


Unpresented Star

by Closetotaku4lyfe



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha Kageyama Tobio, Alpha Tsukishima Kei, BAMF Yamaguchi, M/M, Omega Hinata Shouyou, Omega Verse, Omega Yachi Hitoka, Omega Yamaguchi Tadashi, Protective Tsukishima Kei, but not hot sauce or anything, but not too spicy, gets a little spicy, kinda like spicy mustard, protective tsukki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-05-29 23:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 38,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15084419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Closetotaku4lyfe/pseuds/Closetotaku4lyfe
Summary: Yamaguchi is a prince set to rule the kingdom.But small problem, he's unpresented and the more time that ticks by the more likely he'll be an omega, therefore being married off to an alpha stranger.Tsukki is a guard in training, son of the general, and he's not going to let that happen.(Or omegaverse and some tsukiyama for the soul also protective tsukki)





	1. Enter Yamaguchi Tadashi

**Author's Note:**

> Tsukiyama fic thats omegaverse because I'm a slut for protective tsukishima... And a slut for omegaverse in general... Also Yamaguchi... Basically I'm a slut for haikyu

 

Presenting. If Yamaguchi had to list all his deepest darkest fears, presenting would be at the very top. He worried about that very thing when he lay in bed awake every night, and whenever his thoughts would drift, they always ended up back there again.

That would be a normal thing, worrying about what your lot in life will turn out to be, if it weren't for the fact that Tedashi was to be turning sixteen in just a matter of days...  
He was almost sixteen and still not presented. That, on the other hand was not normal. People say that you can present anywhere from 5-18 years but thats just some jargon that the doctors made up to make unpresented people feel better. The truth of the matter was, if you were reaching your thirteenth birthday and didn't know if you were and alpha, beta, or omega, than people would start to worry.

Oh, of course they would never tell you that, they spout nonsense about how this was normal and that the time would come. If anyone knew about this nonsense, it was Tadashi. He's had it for almost four years now, the sympathetic looks that usually accompanied small pats on his arms or his head, sometimes even a quick embrace and a rub on his back. These little gestures may have even helped, if it weren't for the fact that they were all just strangers feeling mild pity for him.

Pity. Tadashi was just about sick of that word. He didn't even have to say it out loud to make him scowl. But, what else were people supposed to do? He had disgraced his father, the king, with his inability to present. Not like he could control it though, because, if that was the case, he would have done whatever it takes long ago.

There were a few, though. A few people in the palace who could talk and be around him without that dreaded look in their eyes or that sweet sad tone in their voice. And when he says few, he means it. There was Yachi, an omega handmaid who grew up in the palace alongside him. Whenever they talked they forgot about their dreaded second genders and could just be humans for a little while. But then, all too soon he would be forced back into the harsh world of politics and descrimination. Even so, he enjoyed those moments he could spend with his long time friend.

And he had other friends and acquaintances that can and will speak more freely with him than most. There were other maids like Hinata, and even a few guards like Kageyama, suspiciously always attached at the hip with Hinata despite constantly "insulting" him. Tadashi had seen through that facade long ago, even if those two incompetent fools hadn't even noticed yet.

  
But there was one, the one he would always have, and he knew that without a shadow of a doubt. Tsukishima. He was always there, he too, grew up beside Tadashi in the palace. And being the son of the general that led all the troops in the kingdom, he was allowed to be in the presence of Tadashi without being shooed away and called a nuisance like Yachi or Hinata. No, it was always them together, starting their bond through the pure boredom of their younger selves. They were together when Tsukki presented at the young age of seven and they were together for every passing year when Tedashi had yet to present. But Tsukki showed none of the annoyance towards that subject that most others did.  
And for Tsukki to not be annoyed at something in and of itself was surprising. Okay, saying that he _showed_ annoyance wasn't exactly correct, but Tadashi could tell, more like sense, when things would actually get on his nerves. They had been friends for so long, every facial expression ( no matter how minor) could be read easily by each other.

Tsukki didn't really advertise it ( he doesn't advertise anything anyway) but he too can tell when Tadashi is seriously upset. There were times when Tadashi's anxieties get the better of him and he would start to doubt if Tsukki even wanted to hang out with him and he would start to wonder what he had to offer to any friendship. But, without a fail Tsukki would notice almost immediately and would grab him before he fell too deep into his dark thoughts. He wouldn't address what he knew Tadashi was thinking, he didn't need to, because his presence and attention and care was enough to bring Tedashi out of his slump. Sometimes when this happened especially bad or just on a great day Tsukki would say nothing at all, just pull Tadashi into his lap and gently rub his head with his chin, lightly scenting him. They would staying like this until Tedashi drifted off to sleep or they had to separate for different appointments.

Whenever these things happened, afterwards or that night Tedashi would think back to Tsukki's arms wrapped around his waist chin rubbing against the top of his head, and wonder if that was considered typical friend behavior, but eventually he would drop it in favor of drifting off to sleep.

Tadashi may never admit that in Tsukki's arms he felt more comfortable and at home then anywhere else, but he could still enjoy it while it lasted. But how long would it last? It wasnt a question of schedules, Tsukki had been preparing to be a palace guard for most of his life, but he still made time, no matter how little, to spend with Tadashi. No, it was more the question of his identity... What was his second gender going to be? Statistically speaking, the more time that ticked past with Tedashi still unpresented, the more unlikely it was for him to be an alpha. Alphas tended to present before or around the age of eleven, and most who presented after that were beta or omega. It wasn't the case always, there had been some exceptions, but not many. But still the people of the palace and his father held onto the hope that he would be the exception.

  
Tadashi had no siblings, and even his mother had passed while giving birth to him. His father had been distraught, not willing to ever remarry after years. But then remained the problem: what happened if Tadashi wasn't alpha or even beta?

The kingdom of Marenique considered themselves a moderately progressive empire. Especially considering the treatment of omegas. They had strict policies on omega trafficking, checking at their borders to make sure none were being taken against their will. But still, they weren't quite ready to accept an omeagan ruler. So that left one option if Tadashi really did end up omega, they would have to marry him off to an alpha that would take over responsibility of the kingdom. But that left a lot of risks, everyone( and I mean everyone) would be clawing and fighting their way to the throne. Princes who would never have a chance to take the throne in their own kingdom would suddenly have a chance, and even nobles may be able to make it into the running. It would be a harsh and trying time for Tadashi, not to mention the whole marrying a stranger thing.

  
So that was why Tadashi went to sleep every night with whispered prayers that he would be a late alpha. But were they even whole hearted prayers? What did he think he was going to be? What did he want to be? He would laugh at himself whenever he asked himself that last question... As if he had a choice... Sometimes he wondered if he would ever present or if maybe he'll just be stuck in this horrible limbo. But those were questions he couldn't answer, so he set them aside.

"Maybe soon" he thought, before finally drifting off to sleep much later than he should have for the occasion tomorrow. Oh well, it's not like he gets much sleep on the average night anyway.

  
Soon... That word looming in his head through his dreams.

  
But when?!?!

That may be answered faster than he thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'll probably keep updating this pretty regularly cause it's summer sooooooo yeah if no one reads this so what? I wanted some tsukiyama here it is.


	2. The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tadashi's birthday party takes a turn for the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so first of thank you so much for the comments, that was super nice!! Also this got a little spicier in the beginning than I originally intended. I mean not THAT spicy but kinda like spicy mustard but not any hot sauce or anything. So just a wee little warning I guess? Again it's not bad. But anyhoo here you go! Enjoy I guess? Hope you like it byeeeee

Tadashi was in Tsukki's arms again, but this time it was a little different. He couldn't really pinpoint it, but then he realized what it was. Tadashi was straddling the taller boy who was sitting on a bed instead of their usual place in the field a little ways out from the castle. Well, not only was he straddling the other boy, but Tsukki's touch, as well, was... Different. His hands were splayed across Tadashi's thighs slowly traveling up to rest on his waist where they stayed for the moment. Something was off but Tadashi was too engrossed in Tsukishima's intense stare to put any thought into it. But even in his dazed state he had the clarity to at least try to ask how they had gotten into this position. Then he froze.

How did they get here? And where even was here? He was about to voice these very questions when Tsukki suddenly attacked the boys lips with his own. Tadashi almost pushed him back in surprise, but the other boys hands were holding him right against his chest. Not to mention that once he got over the surprise he realized he really didn't want it to stop. Before he noticed he was even doing it, Tadashi was leaning in and kissing him back. Tadashi didn't have time to even process what it felt like to have his lips against Tsukki's before the latter's toungue was swiping across his bottom lip, asking for entrance. Tadashi responded eagerly, allowing the boys toungue in to explore deeper. Tadashi moaned immediately upon contact, seeming to encourage Tsukki, who continued just as eagerly.

The kiss was getting deeper and more desperate by the moment, and Tadashi's hands had some how found their way to the nape of Tsukki's neck and into his hair. Tadashi moaned into the boy's mouth again, and just when he thought he might die from lack of air he was hit with a jolt and everything changed in an instant.

Tadashi looked around his room, befuddled and heaving for air. After several looks around the room, it was obvious Tsukki wasn't there. It took him at least a minute to realize what had actually transpired.

"What the heck?" Tadashi said aloud.

He had never had a dream that vivid about anyone, let alone his childhood friend. What confused him even more was the disappointment he felt at the dream not being real. He then lay on his bed and just thought about the feeling of Tsukki's hands on his waist for probably longer than he should have been thinking about his best friend in that way. Well, none of this whole ordeal was very "friendlike" anyway, so why not a few more minutes of peace and quiet.

But unfortunately the universe had other ideas as the door to his room suddenly opened to reveal Yachi. She was apparently so startled to see him up that she squealed and almost dropped the basket she was holding against her hip. After a moment though, she finally realized there was no danger and leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths and putting her hand to her heart.

"My gosh Yamaguchi, don't scare me like that, it's too early for my poor heart." Yachi said, finally calming herself down.

"Says the one coming into my room unannounced at this ungodly hour." Yamaguchi laughed. Yamaguchi shook his head a little trying to get the dream out of his thoughts.

Yachi had the decency to look at least a little guilty. "You know I come to get the laundry every morning, but you're never up." She defended weakly.

Yamaguchi faked understanding, "Ahh now I see, it's okay if the person whose room you're breaking into is asleep, now it makes sense." He said sassily.

Yachi looked more flustered now as she bent down to grab the basket. "No- t-thats- it's not- ugh- not fair, you know this is my job!" She finally said, pushing it out with great difficulty.

Yamaguchi just laughed again, his signature smile coming back onto his face.  
" Well, now that I'm awake I might as well help." He said, throwing the blankets aside and swinging his legs over the bed. Which proved a bit more difficult than usual, seeing as he was completely surrounded by an almost wall-like mound of pillows and blankets. He wondered for a moment how they had even gotten there.

Any other maid would have stopped him and probably apologized profusely for the interruption, but Yachi knew him well enough to know that it was in vain. They wordlessly started to tidy up the already almost spotless room. When they were in the middle of making his bed, suddenly Yachi stood strait up and grabbed Tadashi by the shoulders. He looked at her questioningly, his body stiff with surprise. Her eyes wide, she practically yelled, "Oh my gosh Yamaguchi, happy birthday!!"

He stood in shock for another moment before chuckling and mumbling a thanks, turning back to the work at hand. Yachi continued to go on about some memory from one of his birthdays and Tadashi half listened, his mind turning back, as always, to his unknown second gender.

He was sixteen now and people had long since given up on pretending that he was normal. _How much longer is this going to last?_ he wondered exhaustedly. He stayed deep in his thoughts until he noticed a small hand waving in front of his eyes, snapping him out of his daze.

"Oh! Yachi, sorry, I guess I'm still a little tired." He said, adding a small forced laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Yachi eyed him suspiciously, but nodded and went back to work.

"So, what are you gonna wear for tonight's party?" Yachi asked, moving accross the room to grab a shirt flung against a chair.

Tadashi's heart sank to his stomach, "Oh, right... That." He really didn't like his birthday, just another reminder that he was an unpresented freak. Not to mention that his birthday also marked his mother's death day. More proof that Tadashi has completely ruined his father's life and probably the kingdom too. But he especially didn't like the party that was thrown every year in his honor. The party wasn't so bad if you didn't look too close but once he's there all he gets is cautious and judging glances from everyone in the room, it was overwhelming. Everyone was polite when they needed to be but made sure to keep their distance most of the time.

That's why usually he just went to the first hour or so of it, enough time to make a round around the room and make sure he was at least seen at his own party. Then after that was taken care of, he and a handfull of close friends would sneak off to their favorite field and enjoy some good food and each other's company. That part he didn't mind, though he did wish it would happen on a different day so he could enjoy it more and his thoughts weren't so clouded.

Yachi seemed to notice his uncomfortable expression and instead changed the subject to what she had picked out for the night. Usually maids and butlers were only allowed to cater at these types of events but years ago Tadashi had persuaded his father to allow a few of his close friends to attend. Though, he never ended up getting to see them at the party, he was always too busy.

Tadashi was thankful for the the distraction and actually listened, every once in awhile giving his input. But soon his room was back to spotless and it was time for Yachi to leave to face her chores for the day and leave Tadashi to his thoughts again.

When she closed the door he sank back into his bed, laying on his back he ran his hands over his face and through his hair in an attempt to wake himself up, but it proved futile. He looked around at his bed where all the pillows were stacked at the top perfectly and all his extra blankets folded and placed at the foot of the overly large bed. Usually, to see his room neat and see things folded and in their place felt right to him but now he stared holes in the perfectly   
made bed and blankets, as if they had wronged him personally. He decided he needed to fix it immediately.

After five minutes of unfolding blankets and positioning pillows, finally he had his bed back to almost exactly how it had been earlier, with a wall of pillows and blankets completely surrounding him. He looked at his handiwork proudly before curling up in the middle and drifting off to a peaceful slumber.

  
The curtains were ripped aside violently, allowing the sunlight to reach Tadashi's sleeping face unhindered. He cringed against the unwanted light, blinking once, twice and then turning away to hide his face from the window with a grumble.

Hinata paid no mind to this and instead went to the next window and ripped these open as well. Now it was too bright for Tadashi to ignore, he sat up from his comfortable position with a grunt.

"Hinataaa," he whined, "that was, quite literally, a rude awakening."

Hinata laughed at this and appologized but no remorse was shown on his excited features. He jumped up and down, practically vibrating with energy as he yelled, "Happy birthday, Yamaguchi!!"

Even as he winced and recoiled a bit at the volume, he chuckled. "Thank you, Hina-" he stopped to yawn widely. Hinata gave him no time to recover before launching into a long story about the difficulties of finding the perfect flowers for the party tonight.

Soon after he began, though, he seemed to remember the reason he even came to see Tadashi.

"Oh!" Hinata exclaimed suddenly in the middle of a sentence. "I meant to tell you that your father requested that you eat breakfast with him."

Tadashi almost didn't believe him. His father never ate breakfast with him. He would eat dinner with him most nights but that was usually the only time Tadashi saw him in a day. Even then, the only words exchanged were small talk. Needless to say he didn't have the closest relationship with his father.

For the second time this morning Tadashi saw a hand waving across his vision. He shook himself from his thoughts, apologizing and telling Hinata that he was going to be there soon. After Hinata left Tadashi started to get ready, mindlessly going through his routine.

Soon enough he found himself walking through the halls leading to the dining hall. He threw on his well practiced smile and nodded his thanks to everyone who wished him a happy birthday. By the time he made it to the dining hall his face was hurting. He walked into the room and was greeted by a quick hug and yet another happy birthday, this time from his father.

If it had been any other day he would have been surprised by the hug from his father, but he was used to his birthday routine by now. They sat and ate, talking a bit more than usual, mostly about the party that was to happen tonight. Around them more maids and butlers bustled around than usual, sometimes holding decorations or flowers or food for the party. He actually enjoyed the breakfast more than he anticipated, but then, just as he was relaxing, his father got summoned away by a messenger. His father appologized quickly before taking his leave, Tadashi sitting at the table for a few more moments and then walking off to start his lessons for the day.

  
He usually began his classes earlier, but for his birthday his tutor had allowed him to come in a little late. Upon his arrival, instead of the usual greeting from Takeda sensei, instead he was met with a hug immediately. He didn't wish him happy birthday or even good morning, instead he just rubbed circles into his back lightly. At first, Tadashi was frozen in surprise, but then he relaxed into the touch, resting his head on his teacher's shoulder. They stayed there for a moment or two longer before Takeda released him and lead the boy to his seat. He began the lesson without another word.

Tadashi was grateful. He didn't want happy birthdays and bright smiles, he sometimes just needed a hug. Takeda sensei was amazing like, he knew when and how to say the right thing and he knew when things were better left silent.

Lessons were technically the same length as always, but it wasn't nearly as difficult, a kind of gift from his teacher. Tadashi was also thankful for something else to put his mind on. Time flew and all of a sudden lessons were over and he was on his way back to his room to get ready for his party.

He didn't have time to get lost in his thoughts again as he was surrounded by omegan maids holding dozens of different dress clothes for tonight. When they finally decided on one and he put it on, he barely had time to brush his hair before he was being hustled out of his room.

The castle halls were virtually empty, but he could practically feel the energy coming from nearby in the ball room. When they reached the large wooden doors that lead to said room he breathed deeply a few times before nodding to the guard beside the doors.

The doors opened revealing the lavishly decorated large, circular room. All around were beautiful flowers of all shapes and sizes. The main color chosen was a royal blue, but it was accented by a pure white. The room was stunning and he took a moment to look at it before turning his attention to the people filling it. They had not yet realized that the prince was in their presence so, for just a moment, Tadashi was able to see them acting normal. Well, as normal as one acts at a party thrown for the prince. But then the moment was over and the announcer slammed his staff against the ground several times, grabbing everyone's attention efficiently.

"Now introducing Prince Tadashi." He yelled out so as to reach the whole room. Tadashi smiled and gave a nod of his head when everyone applauded. He hastened down the steps leading to the dance floor, eager to get of the pedestal.

But he didn't have much of a reprieve before he was grabbed by his father and led around the room, greeting and thanking the attendees for coming. Tadashi had mastered his charismatic smile and laugh long ago and he fell back into the familiar etiquette to help him through his evening.

The next hour went in a blur of greeting and dancing. As it went every year, people pretended that everything was completely normal and that he was going to be a normal alpha soon. He danced with a few omegas who were practically thrown at him by their parents. It was always awkward at first, most of the time they looked very uncomfortable and stiff, but Tadashi did his best to lighten the mood with a smile and small talk. He almost always ended up making the people he danced with genuinely smile or laugh eventually, which, in turn, made him give a genuine smile. In those moments, when he could see a person's wall breaking down, even for a moment, to reveal a glimpse of their real character, he thought maybe these parties weren't so bad.

He had always been that way. As a child he had a lot of anxiety and feared being around and talking to people, but whenever he was able to see those moments of true happiness or laughter, he knew they were worth it.

And so the night passed rather quickly for him and before he knew it, he was being pulled through a kitchen door by Hinata and Yachi. He gave a smile to his companions before he followed them to their favorite field. Hinata grabbed the basket containing the makings for their own private party on their way out, almost dropping it in his excitement.

It was a quick walk to their spot and in no time Tadashi was helping unload the bag, laying out the large blanket for them to sit on. The sun was setting and it was a beautiful time to be outside. While he was watching the landscape he almost didn't notice Kageyama and Tsukki walking up to the blanket.

Hinata jumped up immediately from where he was taking out food from the basket in favor of yelling at Kageyama for taking too long. Tadashi almost chuckled at them before noticing Tsukki beside Kageyama. He looked over at the tall, blonde and admittedly gorgeous boy and his breath hitched, suddenly remembering last night's dream. He had been so busy that he didn't have time to figure out what in the world that was. He played it off as a cough and quickly busied himself in unloading the basket. It was suddenly hotter than it had been moments before and his throat was deathly dry.

Thankfully nobody seemed to notice over the noise of Kageyama and Hinata's arguing. Somehow it finally died down and everyone sat down. Tsukki sat next to him, and this was completely normal, but now it was almost too much for Tadashi at the moment. Thankfully, the group began talking about the party and he could distract himself with the conversation.

After a few minutes of meaningless chatter Hinata brought out a bottle of wine and five glasses. He set them down, poured them all and handed them out. Lifting his glass in the air he said, " To Yamaguchi, happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday" the group repeated almost in unison before lowering their glasses to their lips. Tadashi did the same, taking a small sip of the liquid. He didn't really like wine, so he set it aside in favor of a slice cake. Without thinking he took the strawberry slices off of the top using his fork. "Tsukki, here." He said turning to said boy, before realizing his mistake. He couldnt even look at him in the eyes yet, so instead he just dropped the fruit slices onto Tsukki's plate without another word, suddenly very engrossed in his own slice of cake.

This was a tradition they've had for years, since Tadashi had first found that strawberries were Tsukki's favorite food. Whether it was on a cake or coverered in chocolate he had always given his strawberries to him without a second thought, and Tsukki had always eaten them.

Tsukki seemed to notice Tadashi's strange behavior and narrowed his eyes for a moment before mumbling a thanks and continuing to eat his cake, eating Tadashi's strawberries first.

It seemed to raise another few degrees in Tadashi's world even though it probably should have been getting colder as the night progressed. He pulled at his collar a bit, sweating despite the weather.

The night continued, though, without another hitch. Well, not yet at least. Breaking into stories of strange things that had happened for the maids and talk of training on Kageyama and Tsukki's part. Well, not really Tsukki, he was pretty quiet besides his regular taunts of Hinata and Kageyama.

Although Tadashi had calmed down and started engaging in the conversation, it continued to get hotter. Soon he was breathing a little heavier than usual, and was spacing out.

Tsukki was the first to notice his strange behavior and leaned in while the others continued their chatter.

"Yamaguchi, are you feeling alright?" He asked quietly.

It took Tadashi way too long to process those words, but he couldn't help it, he was uncomfortably hot and there was a small discomfort growing in his stomach and back.

"O-oh yeah, I'm fine, why do you ask?" Tadashi said trying to put a smile back on his face despite his discomfort.

Tsukki eyed him suspiciously again but mumbled something he couldn't hear and went back to listening to the conversation.

Meanwhile things were getting worse for Tadashi. He was trying to regulate his breathing, but it was like sensory overload. The heat was becoming unbearable and he was sweating more than he should for someone just sitting down. The discomfort in his lower stomach and back were becoming increasingly painful. On top of all that the edges of his vision were getting dark.

  
Tsukki glanced at him again, and suddenly concern took over his face.

"Yamaguchi?" Was the last thing Tadashi heard before everything went dark.

 


	3. Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tsukki time

Kei had never had a problem with heat training. While the other alphas of his class struggled to control themselves, he only had to fight off a small feeling of nausea. For a guard, the first rule is to always be prepared for anything, and that included being ready if an omega suddenly went into heat. It wasn’t the dark ages, they didn’t just leave omegas on their own when they into heat in public. Part of a guard’s job is to fend off alphas and get them to a safe place where they can be treated when this situation did come up.  Therefore, all guards are required to participate in heat training, where they are exposed to clothing and other items that an omega in heat has had extensive contact with.

 

The training had started out chaotic in the beginning. Alphas would go crazy in an empty room full of omega pheromones and end up destroying furniture and sometimes themselves. If they ever got bad enough to hurt themselves then they would be promptly knocked out before they could do any real damage. Kei wondered what the big fuss was most of the time. He had found most of the omega scents to be sickeningly sweet, which just gave him a headache and nausea, but little urge to destroy a room.

But after a few months of this training, everyone in the class could successfully keep their heads cool, though they couldn’t really do much in that state besides not destroy their surroundings. That’s when they had moved on to the next stage. In this stage, two guards-in-training would be put into a room saturated with omega pheromones and would have to spar. This proved more difficult than they had originally guessed. Not only could they barely keep their heads straight while they were by themselves but add a rival alpha scent and it only got crazier. This stage had to be closely monitored and many times the instructors had to intervene before someone got hurt.

However, this stage, too, had been passed and they went to the last stage of the special training. They put all the classmates this time into the same room together, again full of the strong omega scent, and told them not to fight or even do anything, other than have a nice conversation with one of their colleagues. It was so tense the first time that no one dared to move even an inch, and they stayed like that for the entire lesson. But now, finally, everyone was able to move and speak semi-comfortably while in the room without fighting for dominance with their scents.

Of course, they couldn’t put an actual omega-in-heat in there with a bunch of alphas, so the simulation was exactly that, a simulation that was just a glimpse of what it was really like. But they were warned of that and told to stay strong, and with that, Kei and his class had finished the last course of their training. Now all that was left was graduation and a ceremony and they would all be official soldiers.

Even after all that training and attempted preparation, when Tadashi collapsed into Kei’s arms, he felt utterly helpless and unprepared.

Kei only had a moment to look at his freckled and sweaty face with concern before the scent hit him. And boy did it hit him like a freight train. He would have recoiled and taken a moment to collect himself if it weren’t for the fact that he was currently _holding_ the boy in his lap.

 

 _Ah_ , he thought to himself silently, _so this is what all that fuss was for_ , suddenly understanding his classmates’ reactions. The scent was simply intoxicating. He had smelled it for the first time only a moment ago but already he felt as if he couldn’t live without it. He wanted to bury his face into the scent and stay there for the rest of his life. So, this was why they had struggled so much in the classes. Was it this hard for them all the way through? He had always thought that he was just naturally more controlled than they were, which he probably still was, but all along it had just been his personal taste in omegas that had gotten him through that class with such ease.

Tadashi’s scent wasn’t like all the other omega’s heat scents, that had made him recoil half of the time. No, his scent was on a whole other level, it wasn’t overly sweet, but was more balanced. It smelled so familiar even though it had just now awoken in Tadashi. It was close to the smell of chocolate, and Kei found himself wanting to nuzzle into it and get as close as possible to the delicious scent. He was still frozen in shock and realization when he heard a collective gasp from his companions who he had completely forgotten were there.

He glanced over just long enough to see Kageyama, who was clenching his jaw and fists and breathing raggedly with a pained expression on his face, obviously trying to remember his training.

Then, all the sudden, Kei was out of his daze and his alpha instincts kicked in. The need to protect and hold became unbearable and Kei gave in immediately. Keeping his eyes locked on Kageyama, he wrapped his arms around Tadashi’s waist and under his legs and stood up in one swift motion. He released a low growl upon standing, willing the other to back down and know his place, to know that Tadashi was _his._ This however, was not the smartest decision. Kageyama had still been trying to regain control of himself, but when he was confronted by the alpha, he too went into full alpha mode. He matched Kei’s growl and glare. Neither willing to back down, they stayed there for a few moments before a blur of orange interrupted their staring contest.

Kei blinked in surprise as Hinata jumped right onto Kageyama, wrapping his arms around the taller boy’s neck and latching his feet together around his waist. Was this small omega about to fight Kageyama by himself? But apparently, he didn’t intend to fight. Instead, he began to rub his neck against the older boy’s while releasing a calming scent. Kageyama froze at the scenting but quickly began rubbing his neck back against Hinata’s. Apparently, the heavy scenting wasn’t enough for him, because he instead buried his nose into the other boy’s neck and took long breaths, his territorial scent quickly dissipating. Maybe Hinata was smarter than Kei was giving him credit for. Maybe.

Kei didn’t waste any more time staring at the strange duo and quickly turned back to the castle, starting off at a brisk walk. He couldn’t risk going any faster for fear of jostling the already restless omega he was holding in his arms princess style. He didn’t get far before Yachi, who up until then had still been in a surprised daze, suddenly ran up to the pair. Kei almost released a growl before remembering Yachi was an omega, but he still glared at her and clutched the boy a little tighter in his arms. Yachi seemed intimidated by his intensity before steeling herself and saying firmly, “I know a route that no one will be on leading to Yamaguchi’s room, and it goes past the medic’s room and I can get someone to treat him.” She made it through the sentence without a stutter and more than that she had even been able to pull off an almost commanding air. If they were in better circumstances, Kei may have been impressed, but now he simply scowled, but still nodded for her to lead the way.

They walked quickly up the small hill and went back through the kitchen they exited the building from. Yachi weaved her way expertly through the mazelike hallways and, true to her word, they encountered no one along the way. Just as they were nearing Tadashi’s room, she suddenly stopped at an unfamiliar door and knocked three times. He had just realized this was probably the medic’s room when the door opened to reveal a woman with dark black hair and glasses, dressed in nightclothes. Kei immediately sniffed at the air and soon realized the woman standing before them was an Alpha. He growled low, trying to angle the boy in his arms away from her, which proved difficult as he was also trying to stare her down. The woman noticed the scent immediately and wordlessly walked back into her room, leaving the door open. She returned a few moments later with plugs in her nose and a small bag in her hand. She motioned to them to lead the way and Yachi did just that. Kei waited until the other alpha had started to follow before walking in the same direction.

It was a little better to have her back to Kei, but he was still on edge, staring holes into the back of her head. They finally reached Tadashi’s room and the tense group walked in. Kei took in the room in record time, eyes drifting over the familiar patterns. One thing stood out to him and he turned to look at the nest on Tadashi’s bed, that was new. He walked over and reluctantly placed the boy gently in the middle of the nest, his hand stroking the freckled face. Tadashi whimpered in pain, and Kei had to beat down the urge to cradle the boy in his arms and never let go. Instead, he turned to see the new alpha begin to walk towards the bed.

Kei’s arms reflexively shot out to the side to shield the bed. “ _No_.” He spat, putting every bit of malice he had into that single word. The woman seemed unfazed and went to walk past Kei until he full on snarled at her. She finally looked at him in the face and calmly said, “I need to treat him or else he will be in extreme pain for the next three to five days.”

Now Kei was faced with a dilemma. To let an alpha near Tadashi and to let them _touch_ him, was surely the end of the world. But then again, so was watching him in pain, and Kei didn’t think he could survive a week of his pained whimpering when he had almost combusted at just one. That left just one more option.

“Get an omega.” He ordered, his arms and body still blocking the woman from Tadashi. She frowned but seemed to realize that he wasn’t budging any other way. She turned and addressed Yachi, “Watch him, don’t let him do anything to the boy, and if you must, use this.” She said as she handed her a syringe full of a yellowish liquid that she had pulled from her bag. Yachi looked petrified but nodded nonetheless.

Kei could take a good guess at what that serum did, but didn’t worry about it, he would never even think of laying a hand on Tadashi in that way right now.  Once the woman left, Kei walked over to the bed and brushed back Tadashi’s hair from his scrunched-up face. He was breathing heavy and kept turning and twitching, his sweat covered face contorted in pain. Kei hated everything about the pained image before him. Tadashi’s face was made to smile, and it tore Kei’s insides up to see him like this.

Yachi watched apprehensively as Kei laced his fingers with Tadashi’s squeezing lightly. Upon realizing that Kei was no threat right now, she sank into the chair nearest to the bed. Kei ignored her in favor of staring at the omega in the bed. He hated seeing him like this, yes, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from him either. It was going to be a long night.


	4. Chapter 4

It was almost a half an hour later when the medic finally returned, an omega in tow. Their eyebrows both lifted slightly at the sight they were greeted with. Kei had long ago abandoned his position on the edge of the bed, in favor of climbing in and setting him snugly in his lap. He was lightly scenting him and rocking him slowly, trying to calm the whimpering omega. Yachi had protested at first, but when he glared her down she had backed off but kept a close eye on the alpha.

Upon the other alpha’s entrance, Kei growled but reluctantly stopped when he remembered what she was here for. The omega accompanying the woman shook a little at the alpha’s territorial scent permeating the air, but still proceeded toward the bed where the omega-in-need was sleeping fitfully. Kei was more willing to let this new omega in, preoccupied with staring down the alpha, telling her not to come any closer with his eyes. The new omega was holding the medic’s bag in one of his shaking hands and a steaming cup of tea in the other. He took a deep, steadying breath before turning to face Kei saying, “I need you to wake him, so he can drink this tea.” Kei looked at him suspiciously, not wanting to rouse the omega from whatever sleep he could get. “It will help with the pain,” he explained further.

Kei finally agreed, shaking the omega in his arms lightly. Tadashi’s face scrunched as his eyes opened heavily, they were half lidded, and he looked far from coherent. Once he was awake he seemed much more aware of his pain, immediately clutching his stomach and whining. Kei clenched his jaw and turned to the omega holding the tea in desperation, but the omega was already in action, setting the tea and bag down to help the boy into a sitting position. The omega medic had apparently forgotten his fear upon seeing the boy in pain and didn’t even glance in Kei’s direction while he was repositioning him.

Kei had never felt so helpless before in his life. He was an alpha, he was supposed to have all the answers, to always save the damsels in distress. But here he was with his best friend going through who knows what and he couldn’t do anything, just stare at the boy with a panicked look on his face. He couldn’t fight his way through this or use his scent to overpower it. He couldn’t outsmart it or intimidate it. He was at a loss. What could an alpha with no experience do in this situation.

The omega medic seemed to notice his panic and addressed him again, “You need to calm down. If you let your scent go hostile it will make it worse for him.”

This brought Kei back to his senses. That was his job now, he would stay calm and be there to comfort Tadashi when he needed it. He took a few deep breaths before turning to the medic to see him pick up the tea carefully. He stood beside the bed and instructed Tadashi to drink the tea, holding the cup out for him to take. But Tadashi didn’t listen and just curled into himself further. Kei didn’t need to be told before he acted.

He wrapped a hand around Tadashi’s waist and gently pulled him back until his back was against Kei’s chest. Tadashi looked like he wanted to protest, but Kei started to rub his chin against the other boy’s head, stopping his movements. He seemed to calm slightly at this and Kei took the opportunity to whisper in his ear,” Yamaguchi, you need to drink this tea. It will make you feel better, I promise.” He spoke calmly to the boy, but he still seemed out of it. “Yamaguchi, please, do it for me. I-I _need_ you to feel better _, please_.” His voice shook as he spoke, but he didn’t even care anymore. Like he said, he needed Tadashi to feel better. He didn’t know how much more of this he could bear.

Maybe Tadashi heard the desperation in the boy’s voice, or maybe he was just gradually becoming more coherent, but either way he reached out shakily to grab the cup. He struggled to hold the cup without spilling it, but he eventually downed half of it before he returned it to the other omega, still looking very pained. Kei then started to think, _what if this tea doesn’t work? What if he must go through a week of this?_ He gulped at that thought and tried, instead, to focus on the situation at hand. Tadashi looked exhausted from the simple act of drinking the tea and laid back into Kei’s chest, falling asleep almost on contact.

Kei’s heart clenched at the sight. Although he desperately wished that the circumstances were different, he couldn’t help but love the feeling of Tadashi asleep in his arms. He nuzzled into the omega’s hair, breathing in his heavy scent. With all the worry, he hadn’t had had a chance to appreciate the delicious smell. But, with the boy’s breathing already evening out in reaction to the tea, the worry lessened, and Kei could step back and just enjoy the moment. He leaned his head down and nuzzled into Tadashi’s neck, where his scent gland was and where the scent was strongest. Kei’s nose was right next to the source of the smell, but he still needed more. He needed to stay with him, to smell him, to touch him. He needed everything.

But he was snapped out of his reverie when the alpha medic cleared her throat suddenly. Kei looked up at her, remembering with a scowl that she was still in the room. She, again, showed no sign of intimidation, instead she addressed him calmly, “The tea that he just drank will be given to him every five hours and that will keep the pain to a minimum. And now that that has been taken care of it is time for you to leave.” She gestured to the door suggestively.

Kei bit back the urge to growl. “No, I’m staying.” He said, unable to keep the acid out of his tone. She finally scowled at this. He was glaring at her with every ounce of determination he had, he was not leaving this room. Finally, she turned to face the omega medic beside her, “Wrap his neck,” she said simply. Kei blinked in confusion. What did that mean? And was she talking about Kei or Tadashi? The omega medic was obviously much less confused, snapping into action immediately. He walked strode over to where the bag of medical supplies sat and began rummaging through it. When he apparently had all that he needed, he set the bag down and laid out the chosen items on the table.

The omega’s body was hunched slightly over the table, his hands working on something Kei couldn’t see. But, after a minute, he finished whatever he was doing and turned to the bed. He was holding fabric of some sort in his hands and just as Kei was about to question him, he explained. “I’m going to wrap this around his neck. It will suppress the scent and therefore any… temptations on your part.”

Kei narrowed his eyes at the boy. He really didn’t want to cover that scent. Seeing Kei’s hesitation, he continued, “Shimizu-san will not allow you to stay if I don’t do this.” This had Kei back to glaring at her- Shimizu apparently- before finally grunting out a ”Fine”. The omega medic looked relieved as he continued to make his way to the bed. He lifted Tadashi’s head off Kei’s chest enough to begin wrapping the cloth around his neck.

“Not so tight,” Kei growled, watching the omega’s actions intently. Said omega looked shaken at the words, but proceeded, albeit a little looser than before. After a few wrap-arounds the fabric ended, and he secured it with a few clips. With the task completed, the omega scurried back to Shimizu.

“Isayama will stay here to monitor you and I will return every five hours with tea and food. And be warned, he will not hesitate to sedate you if you do anything suspicious,” Shimizu said, surprising the omega- Isayama- next to her. “I will?” he asked, clearly taken off guard from her statement. Shimizu gave him a look, “I will,” he said, a statement this time, not a question. Kei probably would have scowled, but the promise of the alpha leaving sated him.

“I will also inform the king of these developments,” she said before leaving the room. Kei didn’t realize how tense he was until she left. He breathed out a sigh of relief before turning to face the boy resting in his arms again. His breathing was back to normal now, and he seemed peaceful as he slept. Kei sniffed at the air and, just as they said earlier, he couldn’t smell Tadashi’s scent nearly as well now, making him frown slightly. He frowned deeper when he could also still smell the other alphas scent in the room. He rubbed his chin against the boy’s hair again, permeating the air with his scent, quickly overpowering the remnants of the other’s scent. He continued to do this until Yachi finally spoke up and politely asked him to stop. He then realized that Tadashi and the room were saturated with his scent, the air so thick the omegas looked a little pained. He nodded with satisfaction at his handiwork and stopped the scenting.

He began to pet the other boy’s head with his hand instead, running it through his hair and messaging his head lightly. Kei nearly had a heart attack when the freckled boy started to purr lightly. It was like music to his ears and he wanted to hear it more, but Tadashi apparently fell into a deeper sleep and stopped purring. After he had recovered from Kei repositioned himself and Tadashi into a more comfortable position for him to sleep. They ended up both laying down with Tadashi’s head resting where Kei’s chest met his arm. Kei looked over one more time at the boy and gave him a kiss on the forehead before drifting off to sleep himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a bit short but i'll try to make the next one longer


	5. The King

                Tadashi drifted in and out of consciousness, and even when he was awake, he was barely coherent. He only woke up long enough to be given food, water, and tea, but for some reason, even if they allowed him to push away the food, they wouldn’t let him go to sleep without drinking at least some of the tea. He found that weird but was too tired to think about anything but finishing the tasks and going back to sleep. Thankfully, the blinding pain and heat he had earlier was gone, but it was replaced by this constant need to sleep.

                Something was waking Tadashi again. He whined in annoyance, he felt like he had just put his head down a moment ago. But when he opened his eyes he wasn’t greeted by the nice omega with food, instead he was met with a yelling person across the room, the voice seemed familiar, but he couldn’t focus on it now. He was almost surprised to see someone sitting on the bed with him, but then he realized that someone was Tsukki. But he did _not_ look happy. He was facing away from Tadashi, and- thankfully- not aiming his anger at Tadashi, but at whoever was over by the door. He couldn’t make out what they were yelling about, but suddenly Tsukki’s expression changed from anger to one he couldn’t quite describe. He looked almost scared?

                Now this scared Tadashi. Tsukki didn’t feel fear, and if he did, he _definitely_ didn’t show it. It took him much longer than it should have, but he mustered the strength to ask Tsukki if he was okay. Except, he underestimated how draining it was to speak, and instead only asked, “Tsukki?” weakly. His head snapped to face Tadashi so fast it almost made him dizzy. The new person by the door also fell silent at his question-not-really-a-question. Tsukki’s expression softened and he gently pulled Tadashi into his lap. Tadashi nuzzled into his neck, it felt familiar and warm. Thoughts of awkwardness and strangers possibly in the room were as far as they could be from his mind. All he could feel was the warmth of Tsukki’s chest and his scent that had quickly become much less hostile. He wanted to stay awake and to smell Tsukki and feel his hand carding through his hair, but the pull of exhaustion was too strong, and he was quickly asleep again.

 

*****

 

                Kei had slept for the whole five hours that Tadashi was asleep, it was nighttime, so he was sufficiently tired. He awoke suddenly to see the dark room empty save for a shadowy figure reaching over the table on the other side of the room. He froze, and his heart started pounding. By this time anyone at the party could have heard about Tadashi going into heat. Countless people in that room could have a motive for taking him, whether it be for money, or for access to the throne or anything. But Kei didn’t have time to formulate a plan before the intruder turned to face the bed. It was the omega medic. Kei felt like he just had a heart attack. What has him so on edge that he was this paranoid?

                The omega medic didn’t seem to notice Kei’s freak out and instead walked carefully to the bed, balancing a tray full of food, tea and bandages.

“Oh good, you’re awake, please wake him up, it’s time for him to eat and have his medicine.” The medic had gotten used to Kei’s uncooperativeness and started using exact descriptions, so he would do them immediately. Kei, still not over the shock, just nodded distractedly and turned to the boy sleeping peacefully beside him.

                All thoughts of possible intruders and dangerous figures possibly lurking in the dark vanished when he looked at Tadashi. For the second time in one minute, his heart stopped, but not in the paralyzing fear way. Kei couldn’t even describe the feelings with words if he had a century to ponder them. All he knew was that he couldn’t stop staring at Tadashi. _Beautiful,_ he thought. He wasn’t even surprised to realize that he thought Tadashi was beautiful. How long had he thought about him like that? Now that he openly admitted it to himself, he realized that was the reason for so many of the strange things that happened when he was around the freckled boy. Like the times when Tadashi would give his genuine smile to him and he just couldn’t stop his own smile from revealing itself. Or when Tadashi would cry, and his stomach would clench, and he wanted to kill anyone who made him sad. All those days when he wanted to trace his fingers across every one of his adorable freckles.

                And what about earlier that night when Tadashi had gone into heat? The only thing that had surprised Tadashi was the amazing smell, he wasn’t the least bit surprised that Tadashi was an omega. How long has he known? And just how much was his stupid subconscious hiding from him?

                He couldn’t go any deeper into these thoughts though before he was being drawn back into reality by an uncomfortable cough from the omega holding the tray. Kei shook his head a little and realized he had been staring unashamedly at Tadashi for over a minute. His ears were a little red when he finally reached over to rouse the boy. His eyes fluttered open and likewise Kei’s heart fluttered. He turned away quickly to hide his rising blush, not that the boy would even notice, Kei was pretty sure he didn’t even know he was there. Tadashi’s eyes rolled around the room, not really focusing on anything until the tray was placed in his lap. He stared down at the tray in confusion for way too long and finally Kei let out a small sigh and picked up the soup that sat there.

                Kei brought the bowl close to Tadashi’s mouth and said, “Open up.” Tadashi obeyed quickly and was promptly met with a spoon in his mouth. He swallowed reflexively before turning his eyes to the bowl expectantly. Kei continued to spoon feed him until Tadashi pushed the bowl with a small whine of dismissal. He had already eaten almost half of the bowl, so Kei set it back down on the tray, reaching for the tea next. The freckled boy narrowed his eyes at the cup, not having the energy to wave it away. He pushed the cup forward a little more, the tea had the pain medication in it, so it had to be drunk. Tadashi looked like he wanted to protest but still reached a hand up to take it, taking a few sips before giving up and handing it back to the other boy. Kei looked at the omega medic questioningly and he nodded saying, “That should be enough, he can go back to sleep now.”

                Tadashi seemed to hear this, or at least the sleep part and sighed with relief and tried to lay back down but realized there was still a tray on his lap. He stared at it with exasperation before the omega medic lifted it off his lap with a small smile and chuckle at his expression. He sighed with relief and let himself be repositioned back into a laying position by Kei. The omega boy nuzzled into the other quickly before promptly falling unconscious. Kei chuckled at the boy and nuzzled him back for a moment before going back to sleep himself.

                This routine continued a few more times and even though he was no longer tired enough to fall asleep, Kei still stayed with him the whole time. They did, however, force the omega to stand and do a lap around the room and use the bathroom whenever they woke him, despite his protests. Tadashi’s room felt like a whole other world where nothing could go wrong, where he could just hold the sleeping boy without worrying that he was crossing a line. Sure, they would probably have to have a talk about this later, but for now Kei could just hold him. But of course, life had to come around and ruin that.

                It was late in the afternoon the day after Tadashi’s birthday when their little world fell apart. Kei had his eyes closed and was rubbing lazy circles into the other boy’s back when he heard the first hints of voices outside the room. He froze and listened closely, making sure they weren’t just loud passerby. But no, he wasn’t that lucky. A moment later the door flew open and in entered none other than the king himself, yelling about something Kei couldn’t quite make out, he was a little too busy screaming internally and scrambling to a sitting position. But when he turned to the bed his yelling stopped abruptly. Kei gulped, _oh no_ , this is where things get bad. The king seemed too shocked to even speak, his jaw working open and closed in some attempt to speak.

                But, after this moment of shock subsided it was replaced by a look of pure rage. Finally, the king found his voice, “Tsukishima? Why are you in my son’s bed? With him? During his heat?!” His voice got angrier with every word and Kei had to fight back the urge to shrink back from the yelling. The king’s scent was growing in intensity and soon Kei was in an unspoken scent battle with him, fighting for dominance. He knew he couldn’t win, but his instincts wouldn’t let him back down. This angered the king even more, how dare this boy think he even had the right to challenge him?

                Even as the room was saturated with the king’s scent, Kei would not back down. The king seemed to realize this was going nowhere and yelled, “Explain yourself!” Kei was taken aback. He didn’t expect a chance to plead his case and so he was left woefully unprepared. He faltered a moment before stammering out, “Well I was- we were- with him when he went into heat and then I just kind of- um- well there was Kageyama and the people an- I didn’t want to risk…” he drifted off, realizing he had just explained a whole load of nothing. The king stood there breathing heavily for a moment before speaking in a deathly quiet voice, “Out. Get out now and maybe I’ll find a way to excuse this. Maybe.”

                “No.” Kei spoke without thought. He then realized that he had just refused the king, _the king_ , and quickly stammered out an explanation. “I-I can’t! I mean I can’t leave. Sir.” he added in desperation. The king’s eyebrows raised, “You _can’t?”_  he asked, again scarily calm. He took a step forward threateningly and Kei gulped, his throat feeling dry suddenly. He didn’t have to explain himself though, because the king was speaking again. “Explain to me. Why are you in my son’s bed?” Each word was slow and deliberate. Kei breathed deeply before replying, “When he went into heat I was worried, so I stayed with him.”

                The king didn’t buy it. “There are medics to take care of that.” He responded, his voice raising slightly again. Kei was getting desperate to prove his innocence, “I’m his friend and I was concerned.” He said, a little too loud to be considered respectful in the presence of the king.

                “This is a little far to be considered ‘friendly concern’.” The king responded, gesturing to where Kei sat.

                At this, Kei stopped. What _was_ he doing? He had never questioned any part of what he was doing until now. Why did he never want to leave Tadashi’s side? Why did he feel the urge to hug and touch the boy whenever he saw him? Why did he want to throttle anyone near him? Could this all be considered ‘friendly concern’? If not, what was it? Kei was drowning in questions he didn’t have the answers to and quickly became overwhelmed.

                “Tsukki?”

               

His head snapped over so fast he probably had whiplash. Tadashi looked concerned. Kei almost laughed despite the situation. After all he had been through Tadashi was still worrying about other people. Kei forgot about the king, about battling scents, about everything else except the boy in front of him. He reached down and gently lifted the omega into his lap. Tadashi immediately nuzzled into his neck and Kei’s heart melted as he began to massage his head lightly. As expected, he fell asleep almost immediately and Kei set him back down onto the bed. He stared down at the boy, making sure he went back to a peaceful slumber.

“That,” the king interrupted, startling Kei, “was not ‘friendly concern’.” Kei didn’t have time to think of an excuse before the king walked briskly out of the room. The blond alpha blinked in confusion. Was the king really going to leave him be after all that? That turned out to be an extremely optimistic view. When the king reentered the room, he was flanked by two alpha guards. Kei jumped out of the bed, arms straight out to the side to protect the boy in the bed. He was growling and snarling as hard as he could, but it was three on one, and all the territorial instincts in the world couldn’t save him right now. The guards pounced immediately. Kei had all the training they did and fended them off for a few moments before getting a sword hilt to the face.

The corners of his vision were going black. He was falling back, and he could do nothing about it. He sighed internally.  

_I’m sorry Tadashi, I tried._

               

 

 


	6. Tsukki?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey yall, i know ive been posting pretty much everyday but it might change to every other day... i set the standard a wee bit high on posting schedules lol anyhoo added a tag ive been wanting to have for a while and also happy july 4th!!!! welp enjoy, this ones kinda long

Tadashi blinked against the light filtering through the windows. As he yawned, he realized that this was the first time that he had woken up on his own since his heat started two days ago now. He was a little proud before realizing that wasn’t really an amazing feat. Well, for an omega in heat, it was. He looked around the room, spotting the omega medic that had been feeding him slumped over the table asleep. Tadashi smiled a little at his snoring. The poor omega probably needed that sleep, omegas in heat were a hand full. Suddenly his smile fell off his face upon noticing something was different. Something was _wrong._ Where’s Tsukki?

Tadashi looked around the room again, almost desperately. He had only noticed that Tsukki was even there yesterday, when there was that yelling man. He thought back to the past few times he’d been woken up, he didn’t remember Tsukki being there, but he really couldn’t trust his memory right now. Had Tsukki been there the entire time or was it just that once that he came to visit? Tadashi felt like the answer was on the tip of his tongue and it frustrated him even more. He didn’t have much time to ponder it though, before the door to his room opened. His head snapped up and he spoke without even thinking.

“Tsukki?” Tadashi asked hopefully, but when the door opened fully it revealed Yachi and Hinata, baskets in hand. In other words, _not_ Tsukki. Usually he didn’t have to think too hard about keeping his face happy around his friends, but it must be the effects of the heat because he couldn’t help but show his disappointment on his face. Hinata and Yachi definitely noticed and Tadashi quickly tried to put a smile on. 

“Sorry uhh- not Tsukishima, just us picking up laundry… but hey! You’re up and talking, that’s awesome!” Hinata said, thankfully not dwelling on his disappointment. Tadashi went with it, “Yeah it is, but how long has it been?” It had felt like a couple of hours to him, but he assumed that wasn’t the case, heats were longer than that.

“It’s only been two days since you started your heat and now you look almost normal, that’s pretty amazing for a heat.” Hinata responded. Tadashi couldn’t tell if it felt longer or shorter than it should have been. On the one hand, it only felt like he had been in heat for a few hours. But on the other hand, he had heard that heats usually lasted around three to five days.

“Aren’t heats supposed to be longer than that?” Tadashi asked. Hinata opened his mouth to talk but was interrupted by a voice from across the room.

“Actually,” the omega previously sleeping with his head on the table began, startling everyone in the room and even bringing a squeal from Yachi, “the first heat is usually much more tame than regular ones. Therefore, it lasted only two days and it was probably why Tsukishima was able to be around you for so long.”

Tadashi’s mouth went dry at the mention of Tsukki. _So, he was here?_ he thought. But he didn’t do a really good job keeping it a just a thought because the omega medic began to answer.

“Yes, Tsukishima was here all the way until­-“ he cut off abruptly, turning his head down to the table and looking very uncomfortable. He suddenly stood and picked up the tray. “I’ll go get more medicine for you.” He forced out quickly before shuffling out of the room.

 _What was that about? And what happened to make Tsukki leave?_ Tadashi thought, but these worries immediately dissolved when he remembered what else the omega had said. Tsukki really had stayed with him. And apparently the _whole_ time. Well until… whatever it was that made him leave, but that was beside the point. Tadashi felt warmth spread steadily through his stomach and chest reaching all the way to his face where it presented itself as a blush in his cheeks and ears.

If Yachi and Hinata noticed, they didn’t say anything about it, thankfully. Instead, they jumped into action, picking up pillows and blankets strewn around Tadashi’s bed. As usual, Tadashi started to climb out of bed to help, but both omegas put their hands out, stopping him. This time it was Yachi who spoke up.

“Nope, not today. The worst of it may be over, but you literally _just_ got through with your heat.” She said determinedly. Tadashi chuckled at their faces, tight with resolve, “Fine, but at least let me sit at the table so you can reach the bed.” They nodded in agreement. His smile grew wider as he walked over to the small round table at the other end of his room. He really did have great friends. Tadashi was still thinking of this when the omega medic came in, holding a tray full of food and tea. Suddenly, his stomach realized how hungry it was upon smelling the food.

The tray was set in front of him and he said a quick thank you before digging in. The omega medic chuckled as he wolfed it down. “The tea is less medicated, but it’s still there in case there’s any residual pain,” the omega said as Tadashi reached for the mug. He nodded and tried to say thank you through his mouthful, but it only ended in the medic laughing again. Seriously, his manners completely abandoned him when he was hungry.

After he had finished devouring his meal and washing it down with tea, he turned to face the medic a little shyly. “So-uh- you wouldn’t happen to maybe know anything about where Tsukki is now? I mean if you don’t than that’s fine!” Tadashi tried to say it casually but failed miserably. He almost cringed at his own words but was too focused on the medic’s response to dwell on his own awkwardness. The other omega looked uncomfortable now too.

“Well, that’s uhh,” he stuttered, going bright red, “I can’t really.” Tadashi looked at him in confusion. “What I mean is I really don’t know… that much. So, I can’t tell you. Sorry.” The medic did cringe at his own words. Tadashi looked down at his fidgeting hands, “Oh, that’s okay, I was just wondering and stuff…” he trailed off, trying not to show his disappointment at the answer-not-really-answer. He was still looking awkwardly at his hands when Hinata suddenly cut in, “Oh, I know where Tsukishima is.” Tadashi’s head snapped towards him.

“Really?” Both Tadashi and the medic said in unison. All semblance of casualness was thrown out of the window. Tadashi didn’t even know why he wanted to know where Tsukki was. Sure, he was his friend, but what did he want to tell him, ‘hey just wanted to tell you I finished my heat and now I’m back to normal kind of ’? He didn’t know what he planned to say or why he even wanted to, but right now he didn’t care. He just needed to find Tsukki.

Hinata eyed Tadashi and the medic in confusion, “Yeahhh, he’s in the dungeon.”

 

Tadashi’s stomach dropped to his feet. Why on earth was Tsukki in the dungeon?! What could he have done that got him, the general’s son, landed there? While Tadashi was in shock, the medic beside him was likewise flabbergasted. They both stood almost in unison. The medic turned to Hinata first,” What- w-why would you?? What are you doing?” Hinata looked even more confused.

“Uh, Yamaguchi asked a question… and I answered?” This did not seem to sate the medic.

“But the king said not to tell him!” he yelled and then promptly looked horrified at himself. He slowly turned to face the prince. Tadashi wasn’t just confused now, he was angry.

“Why doesn’t my father want me to know that Tsukki’s in the dungeon?” Tadashi asked, deathly calm. The medic gulped.

“W-well, the thing is- I don’t really-he kind of-“ he stuttered, not prepared to see Tadashi genuinely mad. Without another word, Tadashi turned around and walked out of the room, ignoring the protests from the medic and the questions from Yachi and Hinata.

He was seething by the time he made it to the dungeon, all the way down five flights of stairs. Tadashi slammed the knocker three times into the door, a little harder than necessary. A few moments later, he saw a face appear through the peep hole. The guard looked at him with a bored expression until he realized just who he was looking at. His face transformed into one of fear immediately, he probably wasn’t expecting a visit from the crown prince, this wasn’t exactly a place for taking leisurely strolls .

“P-prince? What are you-why are- what?”  the guard blubbered. Usually Tadashi hated how people’s first reaction to him was fear, but now he could (and would) use that to his advantage. Tadashi wasn’t really trained in intimidating people, but he trusted his title to scare the guard enough.

“Let me in.” he said simply. After a moment’s hesitation, the guard did just that. The heavy wooden door opened to reveal a small room with hallways branching off in three directions and decorated only with a wall of hooks holding keys and a table, at which two other guards currently sat. They looked up to see the prince and realized almost at the exact same time who was in their dungeon. It would have been comical if it weren’t for the situation Tadashi was currently in. But what happened next was not what he had planned.

“You let him in?!” one of the guards asked while the other one scrambled to his feet and looked just as angry.

Now this surprised Tadashi. He didn’t remember any restrictions on coming down here. But he didn’t have time to stay here. “Take me to Tsukishima Kei.” He said bluntly, remembering to use his full name. The two guards didn’t look surprised to hear him ask for Tsukki at all, but the one who let him in looked very confused. The guards still, however, paled when they heard the sharpness in his voice. Tadashi was officially an omega now, and on top of that he just finished his heat, so he was sure the guards could smell it, but they were still scared. They didn’t expect to be him to be so… forceful. Everything the guards had heard about him was exactly the opposite. Even when the king came to tell them of the situation, he hadn’t been too worried and even said he would probably give up if they didn’t let him through the door.

But no, this wasn’t at all how he was described. When the guards just stared at him stupidly Tadashi sighed impatiently and turned to the one who had let him in, he apparently had not been briefed on him like the others had. He jolted when Tadashi locked eyes with him, immediately shifting them to the ground. Tadashi stepped forward threateningly, “Where is Tsukishima Kei being kept?” he asked, his voice full of venom. The guard gulped and looked up at his comrades for help, but they didn’t know what to do either. They had just been told not to let him in, not what to do if he did get in. The guard shifted his weight back and forth and stared at the ground again. Tadashi clenched his jaw, this was getting annoying. He stepped forward again, quickly closing the distance between them. “You have made me repeat myself once, make me do it again and you’ll make me start to question your value in this job, or in this life for that matter.” Tadashi spoke without thought, only rage flowing through him and channeling to his mouth.

Tadashi saw the guards last ounce of resolve leave his eyes. He watched quietly as he turned to the wall of keys, plucking one off and handing it to Tadashi, eyes still towards the ground. “Take the hallway on the right and follow that for a few minutes and he’ll be on the left.” The guard said quietly. Tadashi nodded at him once before turning towards said hallway and walking briskly.

The other guards finally seemed to snap out of it, and one of them sprinted right in front of Tadashi, blocking the way. “I can’t let you go, sir.” He said, daring to look the prince in the eyes. Tadashi clenched his fist at his side, he didn’t have time for this. He skipped the glaring and threatening part and walked straight up to the guard, hand shooting out to grab his jaw. Tadashi was pleased to see that he was the same height or even a little taller than the guard. He then squeezed the jaw tightly and the guard winced a little, “Look, I’m in a hurry right now and I don’t have time to think of new creative threats, so if you don’t mind I’ll be going.” He gave one more squeeze before using all his strength to shove him out the way using his jaw. The guard tumbled to the ground, hand already reaching up to feel his probably bruised jaw, but not making any move to stop him again. Tadashi glanced once at the other guard, warning him not to pursue him, before turning and finally starting down the hallway.

Once he was out of sight he sped up his pace to a jog anxious to grab Tsukki and get out of here. Now that the guards had let him through, their only option is to go call for help, and it could be as soon as a few minutes before they arrive. His body was buzzing with adrenaline, he had never done something that bold in his life. He silently thanked his messed-up hormones before focusing on the path before him.

He reached the first cell just a few seconds after he parted down the hall and immediately decided this was not going to be a place he would visit very often. Tadashi looked through the bars at the people who had started to realize he was there. Suddenly the people who had been at the back of their rooms were at the bars, reaching through towards Tadashi. He tried to recoil but he didn’t know which way to go, there were cells on either side of him. Then the yelling started. At first Tadashi thought they were yelling at him angrily, but then he realized it was something different.

They were _catcalling_ him. It had been so chaotic this morning that Tadashi didn’t really have time to face the fact that he was an omega now, or even remember it really. Tadashi shivered at the yelling and whooping. He could almost ignore it because he couldn’t really hear what they were saying, but it was enough to make him speed up to a brisk walk. He must have strayed too far to one side though, because he felt a hand latch onto his shirt with a vice-like grip. Tadashi gasped and turned to the owner of said hand, finding himself faced with an old man smiling a toothless grin.

“Hey pretty, what are you doing all the way down here?” he asked, that horrifying grin still on his face.

Tadashi immediately recoiled, but the grip on his shirt was too tight. He tried to claw at the hand, but the toothless old man only laughed at his efforts. From the corner of his view, he saw another person coming from the corner of the same cell, a sickly smile on his face as well, but this on looked younger, stronger. This was when Tadashi really panicked, and he did the first thing he could think of. He bent down and slid out of the shirt currently being held by the old man. He was relieved at first, but then realized as the yelling and whooping got louder that he was now shirtless.

He paled and started off at a run in a futile attempt to escape the endless noise, but it followed him wherever he went. Tadashi slowed down, remembering the reason he was here. He was here for Tsukki, and as soon as he found him, he could get out of here. He looked at the floor and clenched his jaw, trying to block out the noise when he heard from over the shouting, “Yamaguchi?”

Tadashi’s head snapped to the source of the noise and was rewarded with the sight of Tsukki leaning against the bars of a cell, albeit looking a little worse for wear, but not too bad. He could have cried at that moment, but instead he sighed heavily and went to hug him. But soon remembered the bars blocking the way and went to reach for the key- the key! Oh no, oh no, where is the key? Tadashi paled upon remembering the shirt he had discarded; did he lose it with that? He was almost in full panic mode when he felt something brush up against his finger currently in his pocket searching. Tadashi reached farther down and lo and behold, there was the key! _Now_ he could have really cried in gratitude, but he didn’t have time, because he was jamming the key into the lock so hard that Tsukki had to tell him to be careful. At lost last, with a click, the door opened.

He prepared himself to launch at the other boy but was too late because said boy’s body came slamming into him. Tadashi ignored the small pain from the collision and instead embraced him back, burying his head into Tsukki’s neck. Warmth spread through him again, a feeling that was quickly becoming familiar around Tsukki, but Tadashi didn't mind. “You don’t know how happy I am to see you.” Tsukki said, still clinging to Tadashi like he was water in a desert. Tadashi could have laughed, in fact he did, despite the situation. He laughed until Tsukki finally had to let him go. Tadashi put a hand to the taller boy’s forehead, “Are you okay, Tsukki? You just said something… nice.” He whispered the last word as if it was forbidden, laughing immediately after finishing his words.

Tsukki looked away and- was that a blush?! “Shut up, Yamaguchi.” He said trying to put on his scowl but failing horribly. They were suddenly jolted from their moment though when a loud wave of awws broke the silence. They turned to see every inmate in eyesight watching what had just conspired. Tadashi even heard a man farther down the line explaining the scene to the ones who weren’t close enough to witness it themselves. Both boys blushed when one of them yelled “now kiss him!” and was met with a round of cheering.

Tadashi looked at the floor, “W-we should probably go now.” Tsukki was also looking in another direction but now he had his signature scowl back on. He nodded sharply and started off in the direction of the exit. The cheering and awing slowly but surely devolved back into catcalling and when Tsukki realized what it was he turned sharply to face Tadashi, but he froze. And there it was again! That little hint of a blush that easily could have been imagined, but Tadashi hoped it wasn’t.

“Yamaguchi... Why are you not wearing a shirt?” Tsukki asked, staring pointedly at anything that wasn’t Tadashi’s chest. Tadashi looked down.

“Oh. About that… it’s a long story.”


	7. Heated Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo guys, sorry meant to post this yesterday but now its one AM and technically today now... that made a lot more sense in my head but anyhoo sorry its late but here ye go! also thanks for the comments and support youre the best love ya   
> and also can i just say that i love protective tsukki but protective yams is just as good if not better. i just love him so freaking much he could murder a family of rabbits and id still give him my left kidney

Tsukki stared blankly at Tadashi, still pointedly looking at the eyes only, trying to ignore his state of undress. Tadashi began to shift a little under the gaze, trying in vain to cover his exposed chest. Tsukki finally seemed to realize his staring and turned a little darker shade of red- aha! So, he _was_ blushing! Tadashi may have even been proud to make him blush, if it weren’t for the fact that he was currently just as uncomfortable.

Without another word Tsukki lifted his shirt off his own chest and handed it to omega, turning so he didn’t face him while he did. Tadashi blinked at it for a moment in surprise. The taller boy glanced over when he realized he wasn’t putting on the shirt, “Don’t just stare at it, put in on before these brutes ruin their voices. Tch.” He turned away again to give him privacy, even though he had already seen him shirtless for several minutes. Not to mention everyone else in the dungeon. Tsukki then realized that everyone else in the dungeon was seeing this too.

His awkwardness slipped away immediately, replaced by a scowl that was a little more intense than his usual resting face. He started to growl lowly, which was _really_ a bad idea when they were surrounded by alphas. Not just alphas, alphas who all did something bad enough to land them in jail, alphas who also hadn’t been around an omega in who knows how long. Tadashi thankfully heard him growling before most of them did and grabbed his shoulder and swung him around, so they faced each other. The freckled boy’s eyes were wide with panic and he gave Tsukki a look. “ _Not here.”_ he said lowly through his teeth. For extra measure he motioned with his eyes towards some of the nearest prisoners who were already on edge, some even started to growl back. But once Tsukki stopped they mostly went back to normal.

Tsukki mumbled an apology but it was cut short when he realized that Tadashi still hadn’t put the shirt on, “Yamaguchi! Why are you still not wearing a shirt?!” Tadashi looked down to see that he was, in fact, still not wearing a shirt.

“Oh, whoops… but it’s not my fault this time! That one was on you for growling all of the sudden like that.” Tadashi defended. Tsukki rolled his eyes.

“Yes, yes, I know but now’s not the time. Can you please just put on your shirt?” He asked exasperatedly.

Finally, Tadashi pulled on the shirt. It was way too big on him, the sleeves reaching all the way to the tips of his fingers and the hem of the shirt was well below his hips. But none of those things mattered because the shirt was warm and smelled so much like Tsukki, albeit a little dirty. Tadashi had to physically force himself not to nuzzle into the soft fabric immediately, reminding himself that Tsukki was right there and it might be a little weird if he started sniffing and rubbing the boy’s shirt again himself.

Tadashi turned to face Tsukki, but again he was giving him that strange blank stare. Then, before Tadashi was able to do anything, he turned and mumbled something about time and started off at a brisk walk, leaving the other boy to stand in confusion. The freckled boy stood there in shock for another moment before jumping into action, jogging a little to catch up. Tsukki disappeared around a corner and Tadashi sped up a little, not wanting to lose sight of the blonde head while in the dungeon of all places.

But when he turned the corner where the cells ended, and it was just empty hallway, he was not rewarded with the sight of his friend but was instead met by a group of probably fifteen or so soldiers, already in the process of detaining Tsukki. Tadashi’s blood ran cold at the sight. Tsukki was struggling against three guards, snarling, growling, biting, kicking, whatever might free him from their grasp. But it was all in vain. Even when he would land an elbow or a fist in one of their faces, another would replace the fallen guard immediately. Tadashi could only watch in horror as the guards dealt blow after blow, some to his face, some to his stomach or other places, but he never once stopped fighting. Tears sprang to his eyes.

 _Stop. Stop it. “Stop!”_ That last one made it out of his mouth, but it did nothing more than turn a few heads of the guards who weren’t doing anything. And it turned one more head that was a bit more familiar. In the back of the crowd of guards stood none other than the king himself.

Tadashi’s tears stopped abruptly, and his body began marching towards his father of its own accord. The guards surrounding the king turned to him questioningly, but he just waved them away, even taking a few steps toward his son. That was a mistake. Without hesitation, Tadashi took the last few steps, raised his hand and slapped his father across the cheek with all the anger he had been suppressing till now.

The resounding sound shocked everyone around the dungeon, even Tadashi was a little surprised by how successful it was for his lack of practice. Tsukki stopped struggling upon realizing what had transpired, maybe he was just that surprised, but he didn’t even get mad or struggle when the guards he was fighting detained him. The king lifted his hand to the already reddening spot on his face. That was going to leave a mark. Tadashi looked contentedly at the red spot, even as his arms were wrenched behind him by a guard to stop any other potential attacks. Tsukki was not as okay with him being manhandled like that though. He began to struggle against the guards again. “Release him now!” Tsukki yelled, which was impressive, seeing as he was somehow still kicking and biting at everything around him as he said it. “He is the prince, you cannot touch him like that! I will personally-“he got cut off by a sudden yell of “Tsukki!”

He looked up at Tadashi and stopped his struggling. “Tsukki, it’s okay, I’m fine.” This didn’t seem to sate him fully, but for now he was still. The guards apparently didn’t notice his change in demeanor or just didn’t care because one of them punched him in the mouth again. Tsukki fell back and was caught by the other guards but didn’t fight back, knowing it would probably get him and maybe Tadashi into more trouble. The guards set him on his feet, keeping his arms tightly behind him as one of them started to get back into a fighting position.

Tadashi thought he had put all his rage into that slap, but here he was, overflowing with it again. He struggled against the guards, taking advantage of their reluctance and slipping out after a few moments. The guards were reaching out to him again, but he yelled first, “Wait! Hear me out for just a moment.” He said desperately, adding a quiet, “Please.” The guard about to punch Tsukki stilled and Tadashi sighed in relief internally, but they were not in the clear, not by a long shot.

All heads turned to the king who still had his hand to his face, but he didn’t look like he was in the mood to talk right now. “You had a moment to speak earlier, but you took that opportunity to slap me instead. It is not my fault you have wasted your rights,” the king said bitterly. This only fanned the flames of Tadashi’s anger.

“I have not wasted anything, and I will speak whenever I damn well please, “he replied icily. He went on before anyone had the chance to interrupt. “Why is Tsukki even here in the first place?! What has he done in the last two days I’ve been asleep that warranted this kind of treatment?” The guards shuffled a little at the questions and his heated tone, but the king was undeterred.

“What has he done? What has he done you ask? Where do I begin? First off, he slept with you during your heat of all times and then claimed he was there because he was just ‘helping a friend’. And then you know what this delinquent did? He tried to battle scents with me to keep you from me. Me! Your own father! I am the one protecting you from him. Did you see him earlier? He was practically feral!” By the time he finished his rant his breathing was heavy, and he was pacing angrily.

Shock rippled through Tadashi. He knew that Tsukki had been with him through most of his heat, but the way that his father said it made it sound like he was raped. The worst part was, how could he prove that hadn’t happened? He wasn’t even sure that hadn’t happened himself. He was asleep the whole time and anything could have happened, he could have done any-wait. Something’s not quite right with this, there’s something missing from his dad’s story.

“The medic!” Tadashi yelled suddenly. Everyone looked at him questioningly. “There was an omega medic there,” he continued, “and he was there the entire time. He made sure nothing happened.” The group still looked skeptical, so he kept going. “And on top of that he said that an omega’s first heat is significantly milder than regular ones and less tempting to alphas and that this is probably why Tsukki was able to stay with me and not do anything wrong!”

It felt like a building had been lifted off Tadashi’s chest, it was all going to be alright, they would see that Tsukki was innocent and things could go back to normal. He looked to his father, hoping to a thoughtful expression, thinking over the facts, but no, all he saw was disbelief and pity written all over his face. “There is no way for you to know that the medic was there the entire time, you were asleep. I’m sorry Tadashi but we have to put him back there, at least until we figure this out.”

“No! He’s not going back there, have you even been in the dungeon before?! It’s horrible!” Tadashi was getting desperate now. Tsukki couldn’t go back there again. He can’t leave Tadashi, not again. He can’t. He can’t. He ca- the king sighed and with the wave of his hand, the guards detaining Tsukki were walking away at a brisk pace back down the dungeon hallway, toward that hell hole. Now whatever held Tadashi back snapped completely.

“No. No. NO! Wait, wait-please! Stop!” He was practically screaming now as he ran full speed towards the guards holding Tsukki. He didn’t think. He didn’t even feel anger anymore. There was only one thing filling his mind, one objective. Get Tsukki _out_ of there. He jumped on to the closest one and latched his arm around their neck, pulling back to choke him or to make them fall back, either one worked right now. It ended up being a mixture of both. Tadashi caught them by surprise and they both fell back, but unfortunately Tadashi was the one to take the fall, with the guard landing on top of him. His back took most of it, but his head was next to hit the concrete, resulting in a resounding bang of some sort. That didn’t sound good. Tadashi expected some kind of pain, but adrenaline was an effective drug.

The pain was still there but it was minor, so he shoved the guard currently on top of him to the side and jumped to his feet. He was faster than the guard and before they could get up, he kicked them in the side. He’d have to apologize for that later, but he had more important stuff to do right now.

He turned to the next guard, expecting to see Tsukki snarling and fighting with all his might, but that wasn’t the case. Instead he saw Tsukki, tame as ever, still being held tightly by the guards, with a sad look on his face. Why wasn’t he fighting? Is he giving up just like that? Or is this one of his plans? If so, what in the world is he-“Tadashi,”Tsukki said, and using his first name? “Let me go just for now, okay? I promise I’ll be back soon.”

No. No. This was all wrong. Why is Tsukki looking so sad? This isn’t how it’s supposed to go. This isn’t right. Where was his annoyed scowl or his confident smirk? This is all wrong. They’re supposed to be together. Forever. End of story. This can’t be happening. No way can Tsukki leave. That’s out of the question. No. No. No.

Now things were getting bad, Tadashi couldn’t remember how to breath or how to stand for that matter. He had turned a little too fast and now the adrenaline wasn’t working as well, and his head was pounding. His legs felt like rubber and they weren’t doing a very good hob supporting him. The sides of his vision were going dark. Oh no, not this again. When was the last time Tadashi had breathed? He couldn’t remember.

Finally, he remembered how to function to some extent and started taking shallow breaths in and out. Uh oh, that’s not quite how you do it is it? Tadashi’s lungs burned for air, but his breath kept hitching and cutting the airflow off. He couldn’t think straight and now everything was getting blurrier. He watched, feeling disconnected from his body, as Tsukki ripped both of his arms from the grasp of the guards and swung them back to elbow them in both of their faces simultaneously.

 _Okay wow, that was hot,_ Tadashi thought in a daze. He should probably be thinking of something other than Tsukki’s attractiveness right now, but man he’s just so _distracting._ Tsukki turned towards him worry written in bold print all over his face, he ran up to Tadashi. _Oh right, I was trying to remember how to breath. Oh well, too late now. Is this what dying feels like? At least the last thing I see is that stupid, gorgeous face. It’s a good way to die._


	8. Thoughts and Concerns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey this is late sorry, but here ya go also thank you so much for the comments and kudos you're all seriously so niiiice!! Anyway, enjoy, thanks!

Kei barely reached Tadashi in time, but somehow the freckled ended up unconscious in his arms… again. This was becoming a regular thing. He stared down at the boy for a moment, relishing the sight that he knew he wouldn’t have for much longer. Tadashi’s freckles were as mesmerizing as usual, sprinkled across his face like stars. There was a thin layer of sweat covering his face, making it look like the he was glistening. His face that had been scrunched a moment ago was as peaceful as can be now. Kei swallowed hard, _man, I’m in deep,_ he thought as he stared at the insanely gorgeous boy. When did he fall so hopelessly in love with this boy? And how is it even possible that he didn’t know about it until now?

 But just as he predicted, only a few seconds after he caught the prince he was already being ripped from his grip. Everything inside Kei screamed and yearned to snatch him back, to growl and snarl, kick and fight, anything to get him back, to cradle him like he had before. But he knew that wouldn’t do Tadashi or him any good. Even if it tore Kei to pieces, the best thing to do right now is let him be taken care of by the medics and not get himself into any more trouble.

Even as he thought this rationally in his head, he barely kept his body back. He kept twitching when he would suddenly jerk forward to grab him or to hit a guard but pull himself back just in time. It was as if his body had a mind of its own, driven only on instincts and feelings, things Kei would rather avoid. While he was struggling to control his impulses the guards he had elbowed were recovering quickly. Kei was still staring at Tadashi, clenching his jaw and fists. He should really look away, maybe that will help with his uncooperative body. But, even if that was probably the logical thing to do, he just can’t, no matter how hard he tries.

Movement around Tadashi snapped Kei out of his daze and he watched stock still as a guard near him picked the boy up princess style and made to leave. Kei’s blood boiled, and he had never clenched his teeth so hard, he was pretty sure that by the end of this he was going to have a bad headache. Tadashi wasn’t meant to be held by anyone. Except for Kei, he could hold him, but no one else. Scratch that no one should else be _touching_ him, that was _not_ okay. Tadashi was _his_ and people can’t just touch him so casually. Kei probably would have been properly alarmed by these thoughts if wasn’t for the fact that he was a little busy fuming.

The guard holding Tadashi shifted his hands a little, probably trying to get a better hold on the boy, but all Kei saw was that his hand had shifted up the boy’s thigh quite a bit. That was the last straw for Kei and whatever self-control he had left dissolved instantly. His body jerked forward towards Tadashi again, but this time he made no attempt to stop himself, eyes narrowing on the guard who dared to touch his omega. But the guards behind him, who Kei had long forgotten about, had other ideas.

They grabbed him from behind, stopping him promptly. Kei didn’t even growl or snarl this time, he was still laser focused on Tadashi. He calmly and quickly turned in their grip, bringing his knee straight up to reach one of their crotches. It was a perfect hit and the unfortunate guard crumpled to the ground. Kei barely acknowledged this before turning to face the second alpha before him. This one was more prepared and landed a punch on Kei’s already bruised face. The taller boy stumbled back, landing against the wall. Thinking quickly, Kei doubled over, putting his head into his hands as if still reeling in pain. The alpha sneered at him, approaching the hunched over boy confidently. Kei didn’t miss a beat and from his half-bent position he charged the guard, wrapping his arms around their waist and pushing forward with all his might.

It worked like a charm and when they reached the other wall Kei heard a sickening thud that signaled head to wall contact. If it was a normal day, he may have cringed at the noise, but today his expression was cold as ice as he turned to face to group of guards huddled protectively around the king. He didn’t move a muscle, simply waiting for them to come to him, but a glimpse of Tadashi near the back of the group made him slightly impatient. Thankfully they made their move before he became too restless. Three people suddenly rushed towards Kei at full speed, spreading out to surround him.

Kei dodged and ducked but he couldn’t find any openings to land a hit. Even though strong emotions are a good motivator, they aren’t all you need to win a fight. The truth of the matter is, even though he wanted to keep fighting and needed to find Tadashi, his body had been through too much today and it was starting to catch up to him. That much was made obvious when, after another moment of struggle, his arms were wrenched behind his back and before he knew it he was being led away. He tried to turn back, to at least see Tadashi one more time, but he was shoved forward, toward that dreaded cell again.

The prisoners seemed quieter on the way back than before but that could just be his exhaustion blocking out everything but the plea to stop moving. They finally reached the cell Kei had escaped out of just a few minutes ago. A lot happened in such a short time. Kei’s head was spinning a bit when they shoved him into the cell, which was, thankfully, empty. He looked up just in time to see the only exit being closed off, probably for good.

He didn’t have the energy to sigh, so he did it internally. That’s too bad, for a second there Kei thought they were going to make it out. But what had they planned to do after they made it out of the dungeon anyway? Neither of them thought that far ahead. Kei, still sitting on the floor, finally had the chance to drift to sleep but found he couldn’t, his mind was still reeling from these developments. During the attempted escape and fight he hadn’t had any time to consider how Tadashi had gotten down there, but now that he had the time, it puzzled him.

Kei had heard the king start briefing the guards on what to do if Tadashi did have the guts to go down there, so they didn’t just let the prince in. But that means he only had a few options. Probably the best thing would have been to talk the king first and see if he could negotiate Kei’s freedom, but obviously that didn’t happen. That surprised Kei, usually Tadashi didn’t like any kind of confrontation but if he couldn’t avoid it he would always choose words over fighting. Kei couldn’t remember a single time where Tadashi had chosen to use his fists instead of his tongue. Well, except for this time. Tadashi had chosen to go straight to Kei (he didn’t really have time to figure out how that made him feel) but there was still the question of how he got past those guards at the front.

                It didn’t look like Tadashi had brought any guards with him to break into the dungeon because they probably still would have been with him when he met with Kei. So that means Tadashi fought or persuaded them on his own. Usually, Kei would have assumed that the timid prince had persuaded them, but from what he saw earlier, that may not have been the case. Kei thought back to Tadashi’s actions during the fight, his desperate expression and rushed attacks. It had torn apart the blonde boy’s insides to see him like that, so distressed. It made Kei feel so helpless, like it was his job to keep a smile on Tadashi’s face and he had failed.

                Kei thought of what it would look like to see Tadashi trying to intimidate someone, but it was hard, he was just too nice of a person. He ended up with a smile on his face despite the situation, thinking about Tadashi trying to make an intimidating face. His thoughts eventually turned to images of Tadashi in general. First came his face when he was working on a hard equation. Kei had the privilege of seeing that one quite often seeing as they did most of their studying together. But he would never get tired of it. The little crease that appeared between his brows and how he pursed his lips and squinted his eyes and sometimes would start to bite his nails. Adorable. All of it. Would Kei ever get over it? Probably not.

Soon enough, his head was overflowing with all the images of Tadashi he had been unconsciously saving throughout his life. Kei could see every freckle, every hair, every expression perfectly in his imagination, gained from the countless hours spent together. His minds eye drifted down from his face, tracing every freckle on his arms mentally and landed on his soft hands. Kei could almost feel them, nudging his shoulder to ask for help on a question, or grabbing his wrist to pull him along to see some new interesting thing. Those hands could fit so perfectly in his own if he ever had the guts to take it. But of course, he didn’t even know he wanted them until just a little while ago because he’s an idiot who’s been taking this angel for granted.

Kei’s thoughts turned sour when he realized that soon enough, those hands and freckles and adorable expressions would not grace his eyes for who knows how long. No, instead someone else would see them, every day and every night, some stranger who would probably never appreciate the boy.  They would only be there for the money and the throne, not giving Tadashi a second glance. Kei’s hands clenched into fists despite his weakness at the thought of the perfect freckled boy being neglected. It only got worse when Kei thought of everything else this stranger could do to his pure omega.

Would they make him cry? Would they _hurt_ him?! At this, Kei started to panic, it was not a feeling he was used to. He never panicked, but the thought of his Tadashi being harmed to pleasure a greedy alpha just about killed him. But how could Kei protect him from down here?

_You couldn’t even protect him when you were with him._

The words came from deep inside him, slicing like a knife. He had spent so much time thinking about what a stranger could do to his friend, but what had he done himself? Had Kei ever made him cry? Never on purpose, but yes, he has. All those times when Tadashi would question if Kei even wanted to be there with him, all those tears because Kei had neglected him. He was just as, if not more, guilty than this evil character he had made up.

Kei stared at the floor, finding it hard to take deep breaths. All this time he had never questioned whether he was good for Tadashi or not, it was just always just reality in his mind. But was he better for Tadashi than any other stranger? What had he ever done to make him happy? To ease his pain? Nothing. He was just a horrible friend and a horrible selfish alpha. Maybe it was just better to let another alpha take care of him. It can’t get much worse than what Kei has done to him, right?

But just as he thought these things a lump found its way into his throat and tears welled up in his eyes. He almost bit them back, trying to be tough out of habit, but then he realized he was all alone down here, and really, he didn’t care anymore. Kei allowed the tears to fall unhindered down his face.

He wept and mourned. He mourned because he would never see that smile aimed at him again. He mourned because Tadashi wasn’t his, he never was, and he never will be. He mourned for the loss of his only friendship. And really, he didn’t think he could survive very long without Tadashi. So, he mourned his own death as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty then, kinda sad ending :( but not the end of the series, i dont know how long it'll be, but it's not over yet! Next update soon, until then, have a great day, God bless, and love ya, byeeeeee!!!!
> 
> Heyyyyyy guys I know it's been a long time I'm sorry but a new update is coming soon!


	9. Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyy sorry this took so long, i was at camp without my phone or computer. but here you go and also I'll probably be posting like once a week or so, sorry for my wack schedule, but hope you enjoy!

The two weeks after the dungeon incident passed by in a blur of tears and running for Tadashi. The medic said that he was supposed to be on bed rest, but he didn’t listen to that, not by a long shot. The moment he was left alone he would bolt out of his room, which had started to feel more like a dungeon cell. He would run and run, ignoring the pain streaking through his head at every step, until he couldn’t run any longer and he would collapse against a wall. At times like these, when he no longer had the act of running to occupy his thoughts, that’s when things got bad.

Tadashi would start to think, to wonder what Tsukki was doing now, what he was going through, what he was thinking. Was he thinking of Tadashi as much as Tadashi thought of him? Was he in pain? What were they doing to him down there? Then once he started down that train, then came the water works. And boy did they hit him hard. It would always take him what felt like forever to recover from those spells.

Without noticing, Tadashi always ran in the direction of the dungeon whenever he escaped from his room. He knew it was a lost cause to try to break Tsukki out of that place, but he couldn’t stop himself from going even if he wanted to. He just needed to see if maybe, just maybe, they would make a mistake and leave an opening for him to slip in and grab Tsukki. But it was all in vain and every time he peeked around that corner, the guards were still there, twice as many as before his failed attempt.

He was on one such expedition now, his mind blissfully focused on the on the physical pain instead of those dreaded feelings. Tadashi’s legs were growing tired, though, his breathing labored and his head pounding mercilessly with every step. Finally, he slowed to a walk, dragging his hand across the wall for support just in case. He was almost at the corner, that stupid corner that always gave him the same results. Tadashi once heard something about people who tried the same thing over and over and expected different results being no better than monkeys. But he couldn’t help it, couldn’t stifle the little pang of hope and anticipation in his chest whenever he saw that corner. He reached said corner just as his breathing slowed to an almost normal pace. But his heart absolutely refused to slow down, still hammering loudly in his chest despite no longer being exercised.

He subconsciously held his breath with anticipation as he slowly extended his neck out from behind the wall. Tadashi felt the familiar spark of hope for a moment before processing what was before him. He froze.

This wasn’t what he was expecting. Something was different, but what? Tadashi’s eyes widened in surprise when he realized the difference. There were half as many guards as there had been these last two weeks. His mouth went dry, what did this mean? Did they think that Tadashi was done rebelling? That he was already over Tsukki? Probably not, after how far he got on his last escape attempt. Then what else could it be? Were they in the middle of rotating? He thought, willing himself not to hope, but failing miserably. No, that doesn’t make any sense, it wasn’t even close to rotation times, which Tadashi had memorized because of always hearing Tsukki’s schedules.

He couldn’t help it, the longer he stared at the two guards in front of the wooden door, the higher his hopes soared. Oh no, he was reaching dangerous levels of hopefulness. If he got much higher, he might not be able to survive the inevitable fall. While he was desperately trying to rein in his pesky emotions he almost missed the flash of blond in his prereferral vision. Almost. But alas, his reflexes were too trained to react to that color, that face, that smell, that presence itself.

Tadashi turned to face the blur so fast he made his headache worse, if possible. His heart clenched at the very familiar back before him. “Tsukki!” he yelled, uncaring of the nearby guards or possible passerby. The freckled boy leapt at the taller blonde now frozen in place after the exclamation. Tadashi grabbed Tsukki’s shoulders, turning him around faster and harsher than would probably be considered kind. But when he saw the other boy’s face he stopped.

It was Tsukki, of that Tadashi was sure. But his face was entirely blank, his eyes cold, as if he was looking at a stranger and not his childhood friend. Tsukki was a stoic man and usually his face wore a scowl or blank face, but when he was with Tadashi it was always a little different. It was subtle, very subtle, but Tadashi could see the difference in his usual scowl and his face around him. But now he was wearing a blank and almost polite expression as he seemed to process who he was looking at. Tadashi stood frozen, his mind feeling somehow empty and jumbled. Finally, Tsukki spoke,

“Oh, pardon me Prince Yamaguchi, but I am in a bit of a hurry, so if you’ll excuse me, I must be leaving.” He spoke blandly and politely while stepping around the stunned Tadashi. But as he began to walk away, Tadashi was shaken from his daze, “Wait, Tsukki!” he shouted, turning to face said boy, who in turn looked back at the prince. Tsukki didn’t wait to hear what Tadashi had to say though, before bowing slightly and saying, “I apologize, but I really must be leaving. And oh, it’s Tsukishima.”

 With that, Tsukki- or Tsukishima now- turned on his heel and walked briskly in the opposite direction of Tadashi who was back to his unmoving shocked state. He should be feeling things, lots of things, like betrayal, confusion, sadness, anger, anything, but no, all he could feel was empty numbness. He didn’t like it, not at all. His body felt like it was buzzing lightly, and he was swaying ever so slightly, but he didn’t feel like he was going to faint, at least not yet. Tadashi watched the back of Tsukishima’s head all the way until he turned a corner and couldn’t be seen anymore. Somehow, that flipped a switch in him.

Tadashi’s legs stopped buzzing and instead turned to liquid in an instant. They wouldn’t support his weight and he didn’t even attempt to stop himself as he dropped to his knees not so gracefully. If it hurt, he couldn’t tell, he was still mostly numb. Tadashi’s mind was also affected by this weird numbing fuzz and he couldn’t focus clearly on anything. It didn’t help that his vision was blurring, and he couldn’t seem to keep his head in one place, it lolled around everywhere. Then everything crashed down around him.

The buzzing in his head subsided enough for Tadashi to think one thing: Tsukki was gone and he had left Tadashi, _of his own will_. And suddenly the air was sucked from the room and he was gulping in all the air he could, but it wasn’t enough. He dropped his hands to the cold ground, so he was on all fours now. Panic ripped through him like knives. This couldn’t be real, he couldn’t really just be left in the dust like that by his best friend, could he? There was a mistake, there had to be.

 All at once, realization flooded through him. There was no mistake, he had been abandoned by the one person who was always there, who he could always rely on. Well not anymore. And with that thought, all the panic was replaced by pure rage. Tsukishima had left him, and for what reason? Because he was an omega? Because he didn’t want to be associated with such scum? He didn’t express that when he was being rescued by said scum, but of course not, he just wanted to save his own sorry ass.

Another wave of rage rippled through him and he clenched his jaw. That lying bastard! He had reassured Tadashi at least ten times over that if he was an omega he wouldn’t care and would still be his friend, but now look at him! Tadashi wanted to run to where Tsukishima was and punch him, stab him, rip out his throat, whatever it would take for him to understand the pain he was putting Tadashi through. But still, despite his feelings, Tadashi was too tired to even stand, let alone fight. This frustrated him even more, bringing tears to his eyes and choking his breath.

It was all too much. Tadashi felt like he was going to burst from all the feelings. Why did it have to be like this? The lump in his throat was growing and he really didn’t want to cry over Tsukishima, not after what he had done. He was _not_ going to cry, even if he had to scream instead. But as the lump grew larger it looked like that was what he was going to be doing. At first it started as a small moan in the back of his aching throat, but then it grew louder and louder until he was screaming and yelling, at this point, he didn’t even know what he was doing.

He pounded his fist hard against the hard floor beneath him over and over, never registering much of the pain. Why? His throat was getting raw. Why?! The guards are swarming him now, pulling him off the ground, but he’s still yelling albeit with some cracks. _Why?!_ The guards were yelling at him now, most likely telling him to stop yelling, or asking what’s wrong. Tadashi didn’t understand any of it. _He promised._ They were starting to really panic now. _All those days of taking care of me, for what? If he was going to do this in the first place, then why?_ Nothing was making any sense and if he had the clarity of mind he would stop screaming and just confront him or at least think rationally about these conflicting actions. But he did not have clarity of mind.

                Thoughts and memories of Tsukishima flooded his brain. Being held in his arms. Watching him talk about something he was interested in and seeing his eyes light up. His rare genuine smiles. The hours and hours spent talking about random stuff of no importance, but still enjoying each other’s presence. Days spent stretched out in the sun, sometimes in silence, sometimes not. Why are so many of Tadashi’s memories filled with Tsukishima? How will he just cut his childhood friend from his past and future? Even if he wanted to still be mad, he couldn’t. Tadashi had used up all his anger and now he was empty.

                His screaming ended abruptly. The guards stopped their fretting and looked at him warily, almost waiting for him to start up again. But he couldn’t scream anymore. He couldn’t do much of anything anymore. All he could see was Tsukishima’s face in his mind and he couldn’t bear it for much longer. Tadashi looked to the corner where he had disappeared what felt like hours ago. He thought back to his cold, formal words. Tsukishima had never spoken to him like that before. Tadashi thought of his eyes, the eyes he had wanted to stare at for hours on end previously, they had held none of the familiar affection or even recognition.

                That stupid, _stupid_ face that wouldn’t get out of his head. What would he do with all these memories and feelings? This time the tears hit him suddenly and in a moment’s time tears were trailing down his cheek silently. Then sobs began to rack his body. He sobbed, and he sobbed. If the world ended now, he would’ve just kept on crying. Tadashi didn’t know how long he had been crying before the guards finally gained some composure and began pulling him to his feet. They tried to set him down to stand on his own but as soon as they let go he collapsed back down to the floor, barely getting caught by another guard. The guards gave up on him standing and instead picked him up bridal style.

Tadashi wrapped his arms around the stranger’s neck instinctually to make sure he didn’t fall. He didn’t want to let his neck flop around limply, so he rested it on the guard’s shoulder for support, tears still falling freely from his eyes, though his sobs were not quite so violent now. The guard’s shoulder was uncomfortable and not as warm as it should be, but Tadashi was too tired to move it or to walk on his own, so he left it there. The hallways blurred past him and in no time, he was being laid gently onto his bed.

Immediately, he curled in on himself, hugging his knees tightly and crying softly. The guards left the room awkwardly, probably to go tell his father of the current situation. It could have been hours or minutes later when two familiar omegas ran into the room, scents clearly worried. Usually Tadashi would have liked his friends around him in times of trouble, but now it just seemed so exhausting. But they didn’t ask him any questions, or demand to know who did this, they just climbed in next to him on the bed and wrapped the blanket around the three of them.

Hinata and Yachi wrapped their arms around him from both sides, their warmth enveloping Tadashi. He sighed into the touch gratefully and for the first time in what felt like years his body and mind felt somewhat relaxed. The touch wasn’t quite like the pillar of warmth that had been with him though his heat, but it was comforting. Uh oh, he really shouldn’t have thought of that certain pillar right now. Thankfully though, he was emotionally and physically tired and he didn’t have the energy to get upset again. His tears finally stopped, and he started to drift.

Of course, waiting for him on the edge of consciousness was Tsukishima, scowling at first but then noticing Tadashi and waving him over with an almost-smile. Dream-Tadashi followed immediately to where the other boy stood. When he arrived, Tsukishima grabbed his hand and pulled Tadashi into his chest, wrapping his arms around the other boy firmly. He kissed the top of the freckled boy’s head lightly, “Sleep tight, Tadashi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda got sad... again... sorry. but hope you liked it! thanks for reading, God bless, love ya byeeeeee


	10. The Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> heyyyyyyy, soooooo its uhhhh been a while... whoops.. schedule? whats that? haha sorry this chapter was kinda hard to write for some reason, it took a while plus i was on vacation and being lazy so that didnt help. but here it finally is! hope you enjoy, thanks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, i hope you liked it! this ones not my favorite but it moves the story on a little and i promise i will actually have real interactions between Tsukki and Tadashi in the next one(probs a bit angry or awkward at first tho) things will get better tho! sorry if im boring you but ill talk to you next chapter! love ya, God bless, byeeeeeee

Kei checked his face and hair in the mirror one more time before finally stopping and glaring at his reflection. The ceremony was to begin in five minutes, but here he was, in the bathroom still dreading it. He only learned of it yesterday, but it didn’t take long for him so despise the very thought of it.

Really, he should be excited. He was being promoted to a guard and that meant all the classes and studying was over at last. If he was honest with himself, Kei was a _little_ excited to be out of training and finally be a full-fledged guard as he has been dreaming of since he was a child. But what he was dreading wasn’t the promotion, but the ceremony itself. Kei is the son of the general, so he has been to what feels like hundreds of social events and ceremonies just like this. He should be used to it by now. He wasn’t.

Kei and people didn’t really… _mix well_. People didn’t like his scary face and he didn’t like… well everything. The only thing that usually made these things better was Tadashi, but he was out of the question now. Kei’s jaw clenched, and he looked down at the sink. He hasn’t been able to look himself in the eye for long ever since it happened two days ago. Kei should stop thinking before he started down this train of thought. But alas, it was too late.

Kei’s hand clenched around the sink. Why on Earth had he done that; said that? He knew the answer, but it was never enough to stop the doubts. Kei’s hand slapped the sink hard and he forced his head up to glare at himself in the mirror again.

It was the right thing to do.

It’s for the best.

You’re protecting him.

He repeated these phrases in his head over and over, trying to believe them. It _was_ the right this to do… right? What if Kei was wrong? Maybe Kei was just tired and spouting nonsense that night. Maybe he could stay with Tadashi. Just maybe-

No. He can’t start down this road. No matter how much he wants to see that face smile up at him time and time again, he just can’t. It was a slippery slope and he can’t risk it now, or ever for that matter. He must trust his previous choices. not to mention, Kei has already done the deed. It was done. There was no redeeming him anymore, no more chances left.

Kei ignored the clench of his heart at these thoughts and instead turned to the door of the bathroom. He walked through the guards’ shared dormitory, which was unsurprisingly empty seeing as they were all supposed to be at the ceremony hall fifteen minutes ago. Kei took long strides, trying not to be even later. The hallways began to blur past him as his body moved him on autopilot to the ballroom. He focused hard on feeling every step and every physical sensation possible, desperately searching for any form of distraction. But he didn’t have to search for long. There he was, standing outside the room where his career and practically his entire life will be decided. No big deal.

 

```````````````````````````

 

Tadashi tapped his foot nervously from where he stood next to his father. He really hated ceremonies. So many people and sounds and smells. Especially now that he has presented; he really doesn’t know how omegas survive being surrounded by so many alpha scents every day. He’s been in this room for barely half an hour and he feels like curling in on himself and hiding. Tadashi thinks back to the days just a couple weeks ago when he could be in a room full of alphas and only to be worried about judgmental looks. Oh, to be young and ignorant. So much has changed in such a short time that he feels much older than sixteen.

Suddenly his father jabs him lightly in the side, effectively pulling Tadashi from his thoughts. “Tadashi are you even listening to me?” his father asks him quietly and with a hint of exasperation. Tadashi doesn’t even try to lie, “Not at all,” he replies bluntly. The king chuckled softly and sighed, “Well you’d better start listening because the ceremonies about to start.” He walked away right after that statement, probably to move to his position on center stage.

Tadashi’s relationship with his father had been a little more than strained ever since he imprisoned Tsukki. The two weeks that followed consisted of Tadashi avoiding his father at all costs. Of course, Tadashi was mad and part of him wanted to storm up to his father and scream every reason he was angry at him, but he was still Tadashi. The one that avoided confrontation like the plague. Not to mention, his feelings had eventually simmered down into a lonely sadness more than a burning rage. But yesterday, only a day after the Tsukki incident, he finally went to see his father when he requested.

It wasn’t what Tadashi had imagined at all. He had expected a stern greeting and a quick explanation of everything he and Tsukki had done wrong and then a dismissal. But what he got was an apology. He said that the general had spoken to him many times and explained his son’s innocence. The omega medics’ testimonies had also helped. He went on to say that he had decided to let Tsukki go and that he was already out. Tadashi had the decency to act pleased at this even as the sound of his name put a pit in his stomach. He had hugged his father and told him he forgave him, which was true. He wasn’t as naïve as most people thought and he understood what his father’s thought process must have been. Everything seemed fine to the untrained eye, but Tadashi quickly excused himself with the excuse of going to see Tsukki.

The rest of the day had been an absolute wreck for Tadashi. He didn’t know what to do with himself. He had immediately rushed to his room but once he got there he realized there was nothing waiting there for him. Tadashi sat in his bed waiting for the flood of tears to arrive, but they wouldn’t. He just felt… empty. He drifted in and out of sleep so much that he couldn’t even tell if he was dreaming or awake anymore. Finally, long after the sun had set, he got up and took a walk, needing to stretch his limbs. Tadashi had walked around the castle aimlessly for hours before he went back to his room and slept until noon, when he had been reminded of the ceremony by an omega nurse.

So now he was here, making his way to his seat before the ceremony started. He was in his reserved seat in the very front, just a few feet away from the stage. Tadashi itched to look around the room for Tsukki, partly out of habit, but he forced himself to look forward and try to be natural. He wasn’t doing a very good job apparently because General Tsukishima- who was sitting right beside Tadashi- turned to him and whispered, “Are you alright prince?” Tadashi almost jumped out of his seat, he was so focused on the front of the stage that he had forgotten the general was even there.

“O-of course, why do you ask?” he stammered out. He was surprised, and rightfully so, the he knew the general, but it wasn’t often that he spoke with him. Not to mention General Tsukishima was basically an older Tsukki plus facial hair. The general almost looked amused at Tadashi’s flustered expression. “Oh, no reason really, you just looked a little uncomfortable,” he said sincerely. Tadashi breathed a sigh of relief, “Well, thank you for the concern but I’m fine. Ceremonies aren’t my favorite thing though.” Tadashi added, he liked the general and he didn’t mind being honest with him. General Tsukishima laughed at this. “You might need to get used to it. I hate to break it to you but you’re going to see quite a few more in your lifetime.” He chuckled again after he finished speaking and Tadashi laughed with him before they both turned their attention back to the stage.

The ceremony was beginning, and the graduating guards had lined up along the back wall of the stage while Tadashi was talking with the general. He quickly scanned the row of guards and soon his face scrunched in confusion. Where was Tsukki? He searched the stage with his eyes again and his mind scrambled for an answer. This was the class that he was graduating from, right? Tadashi’s eyes found Kageyama and a few other faces that he recognized from Tsukki’s class, so this was the right class. Then why wasn’t he here? As he continued to search for an explanation, Tadashi’s face paled suddenly.

His father had released Tsukki from the dungeon but was that the whole story? Had he been expelled? Now Tadashi started to panic. His feelings, good and bad, for Tsukki aside, being a guard and soldier is something he has been dreaming of forever and if he was this close and didn’t make it that would destroy him. Tsukki has been planning this since before Tadashi can remember and the king knew that. How could the king be so cruel? How could he do such a thing?

His worrying ended abruptly, though, when Tsukki walked briskly up to the stage and stood at the end of the line with his peers. Tadashi’s heart started to beat again. He clenched his jaw and kicked himself mentally. He had gone and done it again, overthinking every minor detail and mistake. But really, he kicked himself for going through all that worry for Tsukki. Tadashi should really talk to him and figure out what on earth is going on, but he wasn’t quite ready for that.

Tsukki had completely shunned him for no reason whatsoever and that was not something one can forget overnight. Maybe one day Tadashi will forgive him and try to reconnect, but that day was not today.

Tadashi was forced to truly focus when his father began to speak. He gave a long speech about the guards and soldiers that protected the kingdom and the palace from harm. It was a good speech, but he only half listened to it while occasionally sneaking glances at Tsukki. Tadashi was shaken out of his daze when suddenly the audience started clapping, startling him into clapping as well. He turned to the stage to see the first student in the line step up to where his father stood. The clapping subsided, and his father turned to the student and shook his hand before turning back to the crowd. He announced their name, declared them an official soldier, and then stated where they were to be assigned. Tadashi was surprised to hear that they were to be relocated to a city almost halfway across the kingdom.

All at once Tadashi realized that these students didn’t have any say in where they were being posted. His mouth went dry when he thought that maybe Tsukki would be moved to the other side of the kingdom. And there he went again. Worrying about a guy he was supposed to be angry with. But he couldn’t help it, years of caring and worrying weren’t going to be undone in a few sentences. Tadashi watched intently as the line started to move quickly, almost reaching Tsukki in just a few minutes.

The next soldier up was Kageyama, looking very constipated and awkward. Tadashi would’ve laughed at his expression if not for the fact that he was still feeling uneasy. His father announced that he would be going to the town right outside of the palace. Kageyama was one of the best in the class, threatening to beat Tsukki in overall grades, but in the end Tsukki had beaten him by just a point or two. Maybe they kept the best scoring students closer? Tadashi hoped so, but it could very well be a thousand other things that decided who went where.

After a few more students, they were at the end of the line with just Tsukki. He stepped forward and shook hands with the king, doing a great job hiding his fear and excitement. Except from Tadashi. Tadashi could see that even though his face seemed calm, his eyes were wider than usual and darting around all over the room, unable to focus on one thing. He saw that Tsukki’s hands were clasped tightly in front of his body and that he was stiff with nervousness. Considering Tsukki’s usual demeanor, this much fear was alarming to Tadashi.

Fear was to be expected when one was waiting for their lot in life to be announced, of course, but something in Tadashi still refused to accept that Tsukki was ever afraid of anything.

His father spoke after what seemed like an eternity of waiting. “Tsukishima Kei, son of General Tsukishima, I declare you an official soldier.” With that people began to clap, but it was short because the audience knew there was more to be said. “You will be placed here at the palace,” the king held out his hand to stop the applause before continuing, “and you will be my son’s personal bodyguard, a job given only to the best of the best. I know you will succeed in keeping him safe. Congratulations young soldier, you may be excused.”

After this the king went on to say more words addressing the crowd but Tadashi didn’t hear a single word of it. He watched Tsukki the entire time as he walked back into the line of the new soldiers. Tadashi was numb with shock. How had his father gone from putting Tsukki in the dungeon to making him Tadashi’s personal bodyguard in a matter of days. His moods were giving Tadashi whiplash.

But Tadashi could ask his father later and right now he was a little more focused on the Tsukki situation. After shunning Tadashi and cutting off their relationship completely and with no reason, Tsukki was now going to be Tadashi’s bodyguard, there by his side twenty-four seven.

This was going to go just beautifully.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, i hope you liked it! this ones not my favorite but it moves the story on a little and i promise i will actually have real interactions between Tsukki and Tadashi in the next one(probs a bit angry or awkward at first tho) things will get better tho! sorry if im boring you but ill talk to you next chapter! love ya, God bless, byeeeeeee


	11. Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *pats pockets* hmmmm would you look at that, im fresh out of excuses…whoops. but here ya go, hope you enjoy

Kei stared blankly at the back of the king’s head, his face calm but his thoughts anything but that. The king had announced his new position as Tadashi’s bodyguard only moments ago without any sort of warning for Kei. This can’t be happening. How can someone completely change their opinions on something so important so quickly. Literally days ago, Kei thought the king hated him, now he’s in the best starting position for guards that there is. Kei would love to distract himself with countless explanations of why and how the king changed his mind, but unfortunately there were more pressing matters begging for his unwilling attention. Matters he would rather not think of.

But sadly, that matter was sitting in the front row probably looking very confused (and most likely adorable but Kei would never admit that) and it took everything in Kei not to even glance at the boy he knew was there. He clenched his teeth and glared at the king’s head harder, the realization of all this job was going to be finally settling in. Kei was going to escort Tadashi everywhere from now on, his entire day now revolved around him. A few weeks ago, that would have been the dream job, spending all day with his best friend and being able to call it “work”, but now it was different. Kei can’t even bring himself to so much as _look_ at Tadashi, how’s he going to do this?

Kei was soon interrupted in his panic, though, when suddenly applause broke out across the room. He looked around in surprise, he hadn’t even noticed the speech end. But that was a mistake because as he allowed his eyes to scan the room quickly they landed on Tadashi out of habit. All that hard work of keeping his eyes on anything _bu_ t him and here he goes and ruins it. Kei wanted to slap himself. He didn’t have much time or the clarity of mind to though, as he was currently staring at Tadashi, who was staring right back at him. Of course, he was, just Kei’s luck.

For the first time in what felt like forever Kei couldn’t read Tadashi’s face at all. Tadashi’s eyes were a little wide, but his face was completely blank, and his eyes followed suit. He was sitting unfazed and apparently completely calm as people began to leave their seats and socialize again. He wasn’t even fidgeting or shifting his gaze like he has done at every social event ever. This was getting weird. Was Kei more nervous about this than Tadashi? This was not good. Much more of this and Kei was going to have an identity crisis on his hands. Kei was the calm and collected cool one, right?

They could have been staring for five seconds or five minutes, Kei didn’t even know at this point. His body was frozen, and he couldn’t figure out what kind of face he was wearing even if he tried. The sounds of the people were strangely muted, as if they were behind a door instead of a few feet away. Even the sound of his panicked voice ringing through his head ceased as he stared at those mesmerizing eyes. Kei felt feelings in those few moments than he had probably ever felt in his entire life. But, being as they were all crammed into his head and clouding his thoughts, he couldn’t stop and process them logically as he usually does. Instead, he is left to stumble around blindly in these… _feelings_. Kei truly despised that word. Because along with it came confusion and unknown territory.

How could just one boy have this monumental effect on him? It befuddled Kei.

Those eyes stared at him for what felt like hours (although it was probably more like seconds) until someone finally approached Tadashi and stole his attention away from Kei. Kei shook himself a bit as Tadashi began a conversation with the culprit. He finally walked off the now empty stage, still in a little daze. Kei didn’t have long to relax though, because some noble he didn’t know came up to ruin his day more with human interaction.

After a while of awkward, short conversations, Kei finally spotted Tadashi making his way to the king to excuse himself for the night. After a brief conversation between them, the king called Kei over.

Kei began making his way dutifully to where the king stood, his face masking his overwhelming panic. It was too soon, way too soon to have to face Tadashi and- oh heaven forbid _talk_ to the freckled boy. He was almost to the king and he hadn’t even thought of what to say yet. Oh well, guess he’ll have to wing it.

“Ah yes, Tsukishima-kun, congratulations again and good job.” The king said with a wholesome smile and with no trace of the malice shown to him merely weeks earlier. Kei bowed quickly to the king, responding, “It is my honor, your highness.” Like a good soldier. The king chuckled lightly. 

“Now, now, that’s enough of those formalities. You are now my son’s bodyguard, so we’ll be crossing paths much more often from now on.” Kei simply nodded shortly in response as he knew the king would most likely continue speaking. “Tomorrow the general and I will brief you on exactly what you’ll be doing, but for now please escort Tadashi to his room.” The king leaned in and stage whispered to Kei, “He gets a little nervous at these events.” Tadashi’s face was already red, and he began to fidget more as he turned his gaze to the floor, showing none of the calm and cool attitude from earlier.

Kei could have laughed at the king’s statement. Of course, Kei knew Tadashi hated these parties, if he didn’t know he would be a terrible friend. In fact, Kei was almost surprised his father knew that. He wasn’t a bad father, but surely at these events he was busy. After a moment, Kei realized he hadn’t responded and quickly smiled politely and said, “I completely understand.” The king smiled at him again before turning to the red- faced Tadashi and bidding him goodnight.

He stared at the two boys expectantly until they finally got the message and started to walk off towards the exit awkwardly, a large space between them. They had only walked a few steps when the king suddenly spoke up again, “Oh! I almost forgot, Tsukishima-kun I have you on for the first guarding shift in front of Tadashi’s door tonight.” Kei nodded quickly and turned back to the exit and Tadashi who was a few feet in front of him. Tadashi met his eyes for a moment but quickly turned his attention back to the doors. They both began walking in silence.

On the other side of the large ornate doors the music and noise were much quieter, making the silence between them even more stifling. Kei was now walking alongside Tadashi, his gaze fixed forward. They made their way to Tadashi’s room, keeping at least two feet between them always, sometimes more. Kei was hyperaware of every breath, every movement, every sound all around him. He could feel the stiffness in Tadashi’s steps and it made him want to punch a wall.

Tadashi wasn’t supposed to be stiff and silent, he was free and loud always. At very least around Kei and their other friends. It felt like Tadashi’s soul had been sucked from his body and all that was left was this shell, this shadow of what he really was. The worst part is, Kei is that soul sucking monster. He’s the whole reason there is this rift between them. But that’s the point. Kei did what he did to create a rift on purpose. And now Kei was only able to watch Tadashi struggle from a distance. But soon enough Tadashi will move on and maybe even come to be thankful for Kei’s decision.

That was wishful thinking. Even Kei didn’t fully understand his decision, how was Tadashi going to?

 So lost in his thoughts, Kei didn’t realize they were already at Tadashi’s door. Kei’s first reaction was relief. The walk is over, and now Tadashi and Kei didn’t have to be in the same room awkwardly anymore. But his feelings quickly turned back to worry when he watched the back of Tadashi’s head begin to disappear. Suddenly he was filled with the urge to reach out to him. But why would he do that? He decided long ago that he had to end this… so why was he expecting something to change tonight? Or maybe to go back to normal? But Kei was left alone to his thoughts when the door closed in front of his face.

Kei sighed heavily and turned around, leaning his back against the bedroom door. It was going to be a long and boring next few hours with only his thoughts to accompany him. And they were the last things he wanted to be alone with. Great.

 

 

Tadashi closed the door behind him as soon as his body was in his room. He waited a moment and held his breath in anticipation, as if the door was going to burst open suddenly. But, of course, it didn’t, and Tadashi released his breath in a sigh. He didn’t even take off his shoes or clothes before making his way to his bed, flopping unceremoniously onto it immediately. Man, what a night. Tadashi was at a loss. He had a mess on his hands and he had absolutely no idea how to fix it.

While Tsukki was in the dungeon Tadashi had developed this pattern of thinking, crying, running, and sleeping, but now he didn’t feel like doing any of those. Well, maybe the sleeping one, but he doubted his overwhelmed brain would let him have any peace. But he had to start somewhere, so he rolled himself over onto his back, so he was now facing the ceiling, still sprawled on his bed like a starfish. _Great progress Tadashi, nice job,_ he thought to himself sarcastically practically feeling exerted from just that movement.

He closed his eyes for a moment, they were becoming very heavy suddenly and it was getting hard to hold them open. Tadashi could feel himself drifting until suddenly a thought woke him up. Surprisingly not about some crisis this time. _My shoes,_ he thought to himself, already dreading how much energy it will take for him to take them off. He gathered all the strength he could and pushed himself into a sitting position. From there it was easy, although it did take him much longer than necessary.

As soon as the second boot came off, Tadashi flopped down on his back again, breathing a sigh of relief. He reached around and eventually found his blanket and draped it over himself. His eyes were closed, and his mind was blissfully empty from exhaustion. Tadashi was asleep in minutes, his breathing calmer and more even than any time tonight.

Poor Tadashi wouldn’t be able to rest like this for much longer, but for now, he slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you liked it but I don’t really like this chapter cause I wanted to get to some stuff but by the time I got it set up it was too late☹ but its all set up and more will happen next chapter and hopefully soon!!!! Love ya, God bless, byeeeeeee


	12. Guard Troubles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyy… its uh… its been a while… heh heh, whoops again. Anyhoo, made this one longer as an apology, but I accidentally made it like v long, but if you like longer chapters than youre welcome, I guess? Also I reread like zero of this, so if you see a ton of mistakes, sorry and please tell me! Well anyway, hope you enjoy, thank you!

Tadashi’s eyes blinked open slowly. His eyes glanced around the room lazily as he turned over to a more comfortable position. The room was still dark not a single ray filtered through the curtains. Tadashi wondered idly at what may have woken him up in the middle of the night, but his exhaustion overcame any curiosity that had been sparked. But just as he was drifting off, a noise from outside his bedroom door startled him back awake. Tadashi’s eyes popped open and his body stiffened in alarm. He held his breath and listened carefully for the noise. After the initial shock wore off, Tadashi relaxed a bit but still listened closely. A soft thump sounded from outside his room, not nearly as loud as the last one but now that Tadashi was listening for it, it was hard to ignore. Tadashi took a deep breath and tried to still his speeding heart as he pushed himself into a sitting position, facing the door.

His eyes had adjusted so now he could see the door. Tadashi waited with bated breath while he stared holes into the wooden barrier between him and whatever this sound was. He didn’t have to wait long, though, before the thumping was back, this time slightly louder and twice in succession. Now that he was facing the door, Tadashi could clearly see the door shake with both thumps. What on earth was happening out there? Was there some sort of disturbance? Was Tsukki still out there or had he switched shifts already?

Tadashi’s head brimmed with questions as his curiosity reached dangerously high levels. But he forced himself to stay and listen for one more noise, just in case it was some sort of fluke before. This time, though, when the noise sounded again, it was different. Tadashi was still facing the door and when he heard the noise the door didn’t shake and the noise itself was less like a thump and more a… ‘ching’? Whatever the new noise was, it was still right outside Tadashi’s room, so he decided to act. He slowly maneuvered himself out of his bed, trying not to make any noise as he did. Once he was on his feet he froze for a moment, almost expecting something to barge in there immediately. But once he was sure nothing was coming for now he started toward his desk across the room.

Again, he walked slowly and carefully, partially because he was trying to be quiet, but mostly because he was a little freaked out at this point. Tadashi made it to his desk and, ignoring the cluttered mess on the surface, he reached to the drawer under it. Inside the drawer was mostly random or useless stuff that he didn’t have a place for, but, after a lot of searching and adjusting and glances around the room, Tadashi finally found what he was looking for. It was a small knife, still in its sheath, but it was of exceptional make and it was sure to serve its purpose well. Tadashi examined the blade for a moment, eyes glancing over his own name inscribed into the sheath. It had been a birthday gift for his thirteenth birthday and maybe now it would come in handy.

Tadashi left the empty sheath on the desk and turned to face the door. He hadn’t heard anymore sounds since the last strange one, but still he was wary as he inched his way toward the exit. His eyes were glued to the wood as he willed himself to somehow breathe and walk at the same time, which proved more difficult than he originally thought. Tadashi was just a few feet away when the loudest thump yet shook the door. He jumped nearly a foot into the air when it happened, but after he was sure his heart was beating again he began to steel himself for what lay out there. Being so close to the door, Tadashi was sure; something- or someone- had been slammed into it.

What should he do? Should he wait and see what the outcome of the fight will be? Or should he go out and help? But, then again, how much help would he really be? In fact, he would most likely just be a liability and a nuisance. But still, the waiting was killing Tadashi. He wasn’t left to debate for very long, though, before there was something happening with the door again. This time it wasn’t a thump or a ‘ching’. Tadashi simply watched, frozen in place, as the handle turned, and the door slowly fell open. The lamps in the hallways were out for some reason so Tadashi couldn’t properly see the figure in the doorway. Tadashi took a few steps back in alarm, keeping his eyes on the silhouette before him. He couldn’t make out any features, but he was tall. Probably as tall as Tsukki.

 Tadashi stopped his backward inching at that thought. Could it just be…? The figure hasn’t moved from his position and Tadashi still can’t see his face but the more he looked at him the more he looked like… Tadashi took a deep breath, steeling himself, before stepping for just the slightest bit, tentatively. “Tsukki?” he asked softly, as if scared to disturb the thick silence. As he said it, the figure stepped forward, now just a few feet away from Tadashi. It was dark still, but when the man walked forward, Tadashi could make out just a few features. He was tall, yes, but that was where the similarities ended. Tadashi couldn’t see much of him, but he could definitely see one prominent feature. A jagged scar ran from the middle of his forehead and down across his left eye, reaching all the way to his cheekbone on that side.

Okay, definitely _not_ Tsukki.

\----------------

 

Kei fought back a yawn as he stood, posted outside Tadashi’s room where he has been for who-knows-how-long now. His shift has been extremely uneventful so far, but that’s how it should be. He wondered when the next shift would be for a moment before he shook it off, reminding himself to focus. Kei had many moments like this on his shift, moments where he wondered why he was even standing guard there. But, of course, it’s the guard’s job to protect the prince, no matter how slim a chance of threat is. It wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t so bored. Be careful what you wish for, though.

Kei’s head snapped to the left when sensed a change in lighting in that direction. And alas, at the end of the hall, the wall-lamp was out. Normally, Kei would assume it ran out of oil or maybe there was some defect, but this event was made more suspicious when his eyes caught the edge of a shadow turning around the corner and out of his eyesight. This could, of course, just be the lighting messing with his eyes, but paired with the lamp going out suddenly, this situation had Kei on guard. Kei kept his eyes on the corner, waiting for the shadow to return, but after a few minutes with no sign of it, he decided it must have been a trick of the lighting, though he remained more alert than before.

It had been nearly ten minutes since the lamp incident and everything was back to its normal dullness. Until it wasn’t anymore. Around the corner to Kei’s left, the same that now had a light missing and was therefore somewhat of a shadowy area, came a man in very expensive looking party clothes, holding a mug that looked very close to spilling over due to his slightly tilted walking. He looked to be a drunk, wandering partygoer that didn’t know where he was, so Kei decided to wait until the man made it to him to tell him to leave. The drunk looking man was halfway to where Kei stood when he suddenly turned to the lamp on the wall, which happened to be one of the only two left alight now. He seemed very intrigued with the flame for a moment before spilling the liquid in his mug all over it in his excitement, effectively putting it out.

Now Kei had to do something. There were only three lamps in this hallway and two of them were out and he could barely see a thing. Not to mention, the drunk man was now walking towards him again. But someone wasn’t quite… right. Kei didn’t have that much experience with drinking or dealing with drunk people, so he was no expert, but something was still off with this man. When the man came close enough to be fully in the light of the lamp, Kei realized what it was. The way he was walking showed every sign of being drunk, swaying a lot, but with not much a rhythm, but now that he could see his face, it was clear this man was not drunk.

His eyes were wide open and alert, scanning Kei and everything around him quickly. Well, one of his eyes scanned, the other was shut permanently because of a scar across it. Kei was quick to respond, hand reaching to the hilt of his sword in record time. But Kei didn’t pull it out of his sheath, even if he wanted to desperately. He couldn’t. Protocol clearly stated that he was not to attack unless the suspect was armed or came for him first. He was stuck. If Kei were to take his chances and attack first, this man could claim he attacked without provocation and he would be off the hook. Maybe Kei was getting ahead of himself, but the way the scarred man didn’t even bat an eye at Kei’s quick movement for his sword bothered him.

Maybe he knew the guard’s protocol and knew that Kei wouldn’t risk attacking a guest without a solid reason, or maybe he didn’t even consider him a threat. Kei didn’t which one it was, but there was only way to find out. His hand still on the hilt of his sword, Kei took a deep breath, hardened his face and asked as professionally as he could manage, “Excuse me sir, is there anything I can assist you with tonight?”

The man’s face remained unchanged as he stared at Kei, bordering on a glare. Kei stared back at him, waiting for his reply. Suddenly, the man’s demeanor changed entirely for a second time in the past two minutes. “Ah, yes, I’m glad I found someone finally! I have wandering all over for quite some time now and I feared I may never make it out of this maze of a castle!” He chuckled lightly at the end of his sentence, eyes crinkling at the edges from the force of his new smile.

Kei would have looked physically taken aback by this sudden transformation if it wasn’t for his naturally bored looking resting face. But despite his calm appearance, Kei was feeling anything but that at the moment. That flawless switch in personalities so quickly was quite honestly terrifying. The man continued to smile at Kei until he finally realized that he should probably say something.

“Yes, I agree, it is quite easy to get lost in such a large place,” Kei said politely, “ but if you just turn back, take a right and follow that hallway down, it leads directly to the ballroom and from there you can find any guard and they will lead you to wherever you need.”

“Thank you so much, you have been very helpful, but if you don’t me asking, what exactly are you guarding all the way back here in a place where no one else is?” The man was still speaking in his kind and polite voice, but Kei could sense the change. Kei could see the way his eyes narrowed just the slightest bit, the way his smile became a little more vacant. Kei’s jaw clenched a bit before he released it and replied slightly less politely than before, “I apologize, sir, but I am unable to tell you what is behind this door.”

The man laughed again, “What could be so important that you couldn’t tell me? It’s not like the prince is in there or anything.” He laughed again at his ‘joke’ before his faced turned a bit more serious again, “He isn’t in there… right?” There it was again, that strange smile that didn’t reach his eyes, and a piercing stare to accompany it.

“Maybe he is in there, but of course you already knew that, didn’t you?” Kei asked, hand twitching around his sword handle. The man smiled wider now. His eyes glinted as he smirked at Kei, the discarding the façade completely.

“Was I that obvious?” He asked, the only warning before he suddenly charged full speed towards Kei.

Now _that_ could be considered a solid reason to engage. Unfortunately, his attack left no room for Kei to draw his sword, so instead he jumped to the right to avoid the charging man. The attacker didn’t leave a moment for Kei to prepare before jumping at him again, this time too close for him to fully dodge. Kei barely had time to catch the incoming fist aimed for his face before he spotted a knee coming up to meet his gut. He jerked back as fast as he could but got grazed by the knee, thankfully not hard enough to knock the wind out of him though.

The man was coming for him yet again. This wasn’t good. Even though the man is unarmed, he’s leaving no opportunities for Kei to draw his sword, putting them on level playing grounds. He was effectively keeping Kei on the defensive and after a minute of slowly being inched down the hallway by this man, Kei finally realized what was happening. They were now several feet from Tadashi’s door and the man was closer than he was to it. If Kei were to be hit by any attack and be down for even a moment, the scarred man could take this opportunity to bolt and by the time Kei made it, the door would be locked, and Tadashi would be at this man’s mercy. That couldn’t be- that _isn’t_ going to happen.

Kei saw the next attack coming and instead of blocking and having a chance of counterattacking like he usually would, he jerked to the left out of the way and bolted towards Tadashi’s door before the man could react. He didn’t look back as he sprinted, but he hoped desperately that he wasn’t about to get tackled. Immediately after reaching his spot in front of the door, Kei turned to look back at the man, startled thoroughly when he was just inches from his face. Kei didn’t have time to react to this one and fully expected a punch to the face or the gut, but instead, the man dropped down, reaching for Kei’s leg.

Kei’s other leg kicked out almost of its own accord, landing a solid and satisfying kick in the attacker’s gut. The man fell back a couple feet, leaving himself completely open for attack. But unfortunately, Kei didn’t get to take advantage of his enemy’s weakness because he suddenly had one of his own. Kei glanced down when he felt something strange in his leg and promptly found a slash across his upper calf to be the culprit of the pain. Finally, it clicked in Kei’s brain.

When the man had suddenly grabbed at his leg, he grabbed the knife that was in the sheath strapped to Kei’s thigh and when Kei kicked him, he had slashed his calf on the way down. Kei had barely finished that thought when he found himself slammed against Tadashi’s door hard enough for him to see stars. He opened his eyes and found himself staring into the attacker’s eyes, now only centimeters away from his own.

“Such a good little dog, aren’t you? Running back here to guard the door even if you knew it would put you at a disadvantage. Whether it’s right here or a few feet down the hall, I will kill you and after you I will go for that precious master of yours. Such a stupid mutt.” The attacker spoke barely above a whisper but the malice in his voice was loud and clear. Kei took the situation into stock as he regained his senses. He was being pinned against the door by the attacker’s weight. Usually, Kei could just find some way to throw him off or maneuver himself out, but that proved a bit difficult when he realized there was also a blade being held against his throat. “Mindlessly following orders like a pup… you disgust me.”

Suddenly Kei was shoved into the door harshly again. Thankfully, the impact was mainly on his back, so he wasn’t completely out of it, although it still hurt… a lot. The weight of the attacker was back again, and Kei found himself in the exact position he was in moments ago, except in more pain. The man leaning on Kei let a scornful laugh at his position, “What’re you going to do know, huh pup? Are you gonna beg for your life like a dog too?” He laughed again at his own joke.

Kei was getting mad now and that needed to stop. He needed to think, and he couldn’t think properly if his mind was clouded with rage. But to think, he also needed time, and this guy was definitely not giving him that. Kei needed to distract him and be ready for the moment- maybe even just a split second- where he could find his opening.

“What do you want?” Kei asked, putting some anger into his voice, glaring at the man before him, making it seem as if he has lost his cool. It was a stupid question, one that Kei could answer without any context at all. Tadashi was the prince and so, obviously, capturing him would mean lots of ransom money. But now that everyone knew he was an omega too, the situation could be a little different. Maybe this man came from a different kingdom and wanted to marry into the family. There were countless things people could want from Tadashi, but right now Kei didn’t need to know which one it was, he just needed to protect Tadashi. No matter what it takes.

Thankfully, this man seemed to be the talkative type and he took the bait. “Why, you ask? Could a mutt like you even understand the reasons behind my actions?” He laughed at Kei, smirking afterwards. “Well, I’ll make it real simple for you.” He then went on a very long-winded rant about omegas being unfit for the royal family and all that garbage, but to be honest, Kei didn’t even hear much of it. Kei zoned out, focusing all his energy on _feeling._ If he was going to pull this off, he needed to focus entirely on one sense, blocking out all others.

Kei clenched his teeth at the pain that was suddenly brought to the forefront of his mind. Now that he wasn’t paying attention to anything the man was saying or what he looked like, he felt his wounds a lot more. He could even feel a droplet of blood dripping down his leg. Kei really hoped he found a solution soon. But he knew he needed to be patient, so he waited. And waited. He felt every muscle that moved in the man’s body, when he tensed angrily at whatever he was saying, or when he would lean in a bit more to make sure Kei knew who was in charge.

Still, Kei waited, it felt like hours but in actuality was only a minute or two. But finally, _finally,_ Kei felt it. That moment he was looking for. That chance. The scarred man got distracted for just a second, loosening his grip on Kei.

_Now!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyyy, so this got reallllyy long sorry bout that but also Im super super sorry it took like over two weeks for this!!! But don’t worry, I have ideas for the next chapter so I will post sooner! Well, hope you enjoyed, see you guys in the next chapter, love you, God bless, byeeeeeeeee


	13. Of Lamentations and Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> terrible title kinda sad chapter.... when is it not????

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooow look who decided to finally update. I am so completely and entirely sorry guys but guess what!!! I actually have an excuse cause school just started and oh boy has it gotten busy fast! But anyhoo I hope you enjoy it!

_Now!_

Kei could almost see his next course of action laid out before his mind’s eye like a memory, he could even see where the scarred intruder was most likely to counter when he attacked. The entire scene to come flashed before Kei’s eyes in an instant. It felt like centuries before Kei’s body was finally acting, but when it did, boy did it feel good.

Kei brought his knee up into his attacker’s crotch faster than lightning, effectively stopping him mid-rant. He doubled over in pain, loosing his grip on Kei momentarily. With the attacker bend forward at his hips the angle was perfect for Kei to bring his knee up again, this time landing right in the man’s face. Kei heard his nose break with a sold crunch and although battle noises such as this usually made Kei slightly uncomfortable, this time the sound was like music to his ears.

But no way on Earth was Kei going to give him a break. He charged the scarred man immediately after the knee attacks, ramming him into the opposite wall with all the force he could muster. But unfortunately, that didn’t prove to be much force. Kei was tired, too tired he realized. His mind flashed to the wound on his leg that he had been ignoring. With all the adrenaline and focus taking all the space in his brain, he had forgotten entirely about the wound and pain in his leg. Was it worse than it felt? Was he slowly bleeding and not noticing?

Kei took less than two seconds to ask these questions to himself, but that was apparently enough time for the tide of the fight to turn.

The intruder suddenly pushed back on Kei’s shoulders, keeping him at arms’ length. But before Kei could react, the intruder stepped forward and brought his elbow up to meet Kei’s jaw. Hard. This was bad, Kei knew that. But with all the stars clouding his vision and mind he couldn’t do anything but sway for a moment. Emphasis on moment, because the next moment Kei was being charged yet again. He was slammed into Tadashi’s door for the umpteenth time that night and all Kei could think of was what lied on the other side of that wood.

Through the fight he had been too busy to think about anything other than what was happening that instant. But now, when the end of the fight was in sight and was it wasn’t in Kei’s favor, all he could do was think of what he had just now lost. His mind went immediately to Tadashi. Of course it did. It seemed to never truly part from thoughts of him. Kei sighed internally. That boy was going to be the death of him. Kei almost laughed aloud at that thought. He was about to, quite literally, die for that boy.

Kei’s blood ran cold as he realized, if Kei dies _Tadashi_ dies. And suddenly, it didn’t seem so laughable, Kei’s death. Kei’s eyes became wide as the panic set in. No, this isn’t where Tadashi dies. He’s so young, he has his entire life before him. He’s only sixteen, he hasn’t had children, been bonded, he hasn’t even felt his first taste of love. No, there is no way that Tadashi can die here. Kei thought only of that smile, that laugh, that face _, him._

What will that face look like as he breaths his last breath, maybe in only a minute to come.

Finally, that brought Kei back to his senses. Kei jerked forward in a desperate attempt to break free from that now familiar death grip. But that proved to be a terrible idea. While Kei was in his trancelike state, he didn’t realize that there was now a knife to his throat… again. The pain shot through his neck instantly, stopping his struggle promptly. The man looked almost as surprised as Kei felt, staring at Kei blankly before breaking into a loud and thoroughly amused laugh.

“I knew you were stupid, but _this. This_ is the most stupid thing I have ever seen in my life.” The man said through his loud cackling. Finally, after all the laughter was out of his system apparently, he threw Kei on the ground out of the way of the door with an air of finality. Kei placed a hand weakly over the wound on his neck and tried to look at the man standing in front of the door. His vision was blurry, but he could hear the last, “Stupid pup,” uttered by the intruder before he disappeared through the doorway. 

Through the doorway… doorway… _Tadashi’s_ doorway that led to _his_ room. No. He had tried so hard. So hard. But still! But still? Why? Why Tadashi? Why? Hasn’t life been bad enough? Why must he be punished so? He’s such a good person-no! An amazing person! His smile shines brighter than a thousand suns. Just his presence could lift any mood and brighten anyone’s day, week, even year! He’s so innocent, so young, so beautiful, so talented and smart and supportive and loving and caring and kind and courageous and Kei could only ask why. Why?!

Kei stared blankly at the ceiling and asked and asked the universe, but it never gave an answer.

 Slowly but surely came the sadness. It started as a single tear sliding down Kei’s cheek, but soon, many others followed. The sobs racked Kei’s tired body and honestly, Kei couldn’t find a way to care about the physical pain he was feeling. It hurt so much more on the inside. He didn’t want to leave, Kei realized. But more than that, he didn’t want to leave Tadashi. He never wanted to leave Tadashi. He had tried to convince himself that he didn’t care anymore, didn’t need him. But he failed… miserably.

 No matter how far he distanced himself from Tadashi he couldn’t stop his mind from turning back to him constantly. He was always wanting, yearning to be closer. Even before Tadashi’s sixteenth birthday, before all the craziness, he had always wanted more. He would feel his mood fall almost instantly after they were separated, even for minutes or hours. Kei realized for the second time what he had been hiding from himself these past few weeks.

He loved Tadashi.

More than his own life, he loved Tadashi. More than his kingdom, he loved Tadashi. More than the entire world, the moon, the stars, the planets, the universe, he loved Tadashi.

This should have been a wonderful revelation for Kei. A happy moment filled with love. Maybe in another life. Maybe somewhere, in some parallel universe, Kei got a happy ending, got to shower Tadashi with his love for all of eternity, but it was not this universe, this ending. Is this goodbye? Will Kei truly never be able to express his feelings for Tadashi? What were Kei’s last words to him? He couldn’t even remember the last thing he said to Tadashi. Is this how Tadashi will remember him? Cold, blank stares, and even colder words?

No, Tadashi won’t remember Kei like anything, because soon, Tadashi won’t remember anything.

The tears that had slowed earlier came back full force now. This can’t be real, can it?

Please, anyone, anything, do something, anything! Kei pleaded in his mind over and over before they leaked out of his mouth forming only one word. A word Kei wished he could have said a billion more times in his lifetime.

“Ta…shi” Kei choked out slowly, the sobbing had left a lump the size of Jupiter in his throat, not to mention the knife wound.

“Tada..shi”

“Ta… dashi!”

“Tadashi! Please! Please…”

\-----------------------------------------

 

Tadashi stared wide eyed at the intruder in his room who was newly discovered to be not Tsukki. The scarred man had not given Tadashi time to process this information as he continued toward him, a menacing, cold look on his face. But Tadashi was more distracted by the object in the intruder’s hand that he just noticed. A knife. Not just a knife, though, a bloody knife. Tadashi paled as he realized what the object was. More specifically, Tadashi paled when he realized what the blood on the object meant. Whose blood was on his knife? His mind went immediately to Kei.

No. That wouldn’t happen. Kei wouldn’t- Kei couldn’t- he can’t! It’s not possible! There must be an explanation for this! Maybe Kei’s shift is over, for all Tadashi knew, it could be way past his time and Kei could be safe in bed, sleeping his worries away. Yeah. Yeah that must be it. Kei’s okay, just in bed.

No matter how many times Tadashi repeated it to himself, it didn’t feel right. He hadn’t been sleeping long enough for Kei to be- no. He can’t do this, he doesn’t have time to. He must believe for now that Kei is in bed now, sound as-

” I met your little mutt out there.” The scarred man says, now only a few feet away from Tadashi, despite his inching backwards. “He was an annoying little pup, so insistent on keeping me away, ha! Like that boy could have done anything!”

Calm down. It’s okay, he could be talking about anyone. Tadashi had to repeat this several times to himself before his could breathe again.

“That stupid pup acted all calm and cool in the beginning, but by the end he was so desperate he slit his own throat on my blade, can you believe that?! Ahaha!!!”

Now that wasn’t good. No matter who was out there, they still had a bad wound.

“It’s a shame he was so dumb, he had quite a nice face. He was tall, blonde, exactly my type, but just so arrogant!”

Tadashi’s heart was in his stomach. Did he hear him right? Tall… Blonde… ”Tsukki?”

“What?” The scarred man asked, apparently Tadashi had said that out loud. He didn’t care.

“What did you do?” Tadashi said it quietly, his voicing on the verge of shaking from suppressed tears. “What did you do?!” This time the tears were gone, the doubt was gone, the fear was gone, everything was gone and there was only anger left.

The man was startled by his sudden exclamation, “Woah there, no reason to get all worked up now.” He spoke with a maniacal grin, like he was suppressing a laugh. What did he think this was? What does he think that Tsukki’s life was?

“What did you do with Tsukki?!” He asked one more time, even pointing the knife in his hand to the man. The man didn’t seem so amused now.

“I don’t know about this ‘Tsukki’ but I am going to teach you a little about what we do in our kingdom when an omega’s misbe-“

He didn’t have a chance to finish his statement before Tadashi lurched forward, thrusting his blade blindly. Tadashi didn’t have much experience with a blade, and he wasn’t using it right now, when his anger was so high he swore he could see red. But whatever he did paid off when felt the knife hit something solid and he heard the man’s sharp intake of breath.

Tadashi didn’t have long to celebrate though, because he was being pulled roughly towards the intruder, apparently whatever he did wasn’t much. It was too late now. Tadashi was in his grip and he was as good as dead. Tadashi barely knew anything about fighting and now he was facing this man, who obviously did this for a living. The scarred man was scarier from a few inches away and if his expression was anything to go by, he wasn’t very happy about Tadashi’s little move.

But Tadashi didn’t dare flinch away or avert his eyes from that piercing gaze, he couldn’t fight, but he wouldn’t be broken, and not by this weak glare. They glared at each other for another moment and just as the man looked like he was about to speak again, Tadashi pulled out his last move. As fast and hard as he could, he slammed his forehead into his attacker’s forehead.

Tadashi heard could hear the grunt of surprise and pain as he simultaneously jumped back and out of the intruder’s grip. He could see anything through the stars in his vision, but he was too proud to care. Maybe he should have cared. Just when he was starting to regain his senses, he was slammed into the wall behind him, bringing the stars right back.

This wasn’t good. That was Tadashi’s last move and now the man was even angrier than before. Tadashi began to panic now. There was no time. What could he do? Quick. Think. Think! But the man’s hand was coming up to strike and Tadashi’s eyes were snapping shut. He prepared himself for the first of many blows but instead was met with a loud thump and the thud of the intruder’s body hitting the floor.

Tadashi’s eyes snapped open again and found a man in shadows with a sword raised above him, looking like he was about to strike. Tadashi closed his eyes yet again in anticipation but instead heard the clang of a sword hitting the ground. A hand was on his face now and Tadashi almost flinched before he opened his eyes and saw.

In all his blonde and bloody glory stood Tsukki, face flooded with relief and something that Tadashi couldn’t read. But Tadashi couldn’t care less because here in front of him was Tsukki! The Tsukki that up until a moment ago was dead! He could hardly believe it! If it weren’t for the fact that he was right here, Tedashi would-

“Tadashi.” Kei spoke, his voicing choking in the middle as a tear rolled down his cheek, “Thank goodness.” He whispered right before he became dead weight in Tadashi’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo I hope you liked it and sorry its still a wee bit sad but I promise that the next chapter will be happier!!!!! Also I hope to update two or three times a month so Im sorry but please stick with me itll be worth it!!! Probably. Anyhoooo love ya, God bless, byeeeeeeeee


	14. Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yall its been a full month, im a failure, and you probs hate me im so sorrryyyyyyy!!!!! But heres a chapter, it’s a lil long too please don’t leave meeeeeeee!!! (sorry for misnakes or generally bad writing, i didnt have time to read this plus it lonnnnng)

Kei awoke slowly, eyes dragging themselves open reluctantly, dreading the light that was sure to be on the other side of his eye lids. He couldn’t tell where he was, but it definitely wasn’t his room, he decided. Kei tried to turn his head a bit to survey the room, wincing as he was promptly met with searing pain in his neck. At the sound of air rushing through Kei’s clenched teeth, something beside his bed stirred.  
  
No matter how much pain it caused him to move his head, he couldn’t just ignore some unknown being in his room. Kei turned his head as slowly as possible, trying not to disturb his neck wound. He winced all the way through the action and now his fists were clenched in tight balls, nails digging into his palms in some attempt at distraction from the real pain. But finally, he turned his head to the right side of his bed where he had sensed something.  
There, resting his head on the edge of Kei’s bed, sleeping peacefully, was Tadashi.  
Kei stared. He stared at the boy in front of him as memories of last night came flooding back to him all at once. A man, a scar, a knife, a cut and then another. Pain. Tadashi. Tadashi…  
  
Kei released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, relief washing over him in waves like great tsunamis crashing violently against the shore. He’s alive. Tadashi’s alive. Kei repeated it to himself a hundred times over in a hundred different ways but still wasn’t enough. He needed Tadashi. He needed to feel, to smell, to hear him, to know he’s truly, really alive.  
But in Kei’s state of body and mind he couldn’t do anything but watch as Tadashi’s chest rose and fell with each breath. He watched and with every inhale from the omega he thanked God for this miracle. Because that’s what it must be. A miracle. Kei doesn’t know how long he watched the boy sleep, it couldn’t have been minutes or hours, all he knew was that he wanted more. He wanted to talk to Tadashi like they used to. He wanted to be able to speak his mind and never be worried or uncomfortable around Tadashi. He wanted his friend back.  
  
Tadashi’s breaths started coming faster, becoming unnaturally short and shallow. Kei’s brow furrowed, and he stared intently at the sleeping figure. Was he just having a bad dream? Or was there some sort of injury that Kei hadn’t noticed that was affecting him? As Tadashi’s breath sped up so did Kei’s, the familiar need to do something, anything, that came with being an Alpha starting to cloud his thoughts. Tadashi’s scent was growing anxious as well and that was a scent Kei wanted to simultaneously stop and run from. It was so overwhelming, and not in the beautiful way that Tadashi’s scent usually was. No, this scent was like a twisted, grotesque version of that perfect smell he craved. It was so close to the actual thing, but sour, throwing it all off.  
  
Kei was beginning to panic. What should he do? He wanted nothing more to make that scent, that fear stop, but he didn’t know how. Should he wake Tadashi? But that might make it worse to be suddenly woken up after what happened last night. Ugh, this was so frustrating. Kei thought back to all his omega training and suddenly had an idea. If he could calm and project his own scent, maybe that would help. Maybe.  
But then again, they never really got into the section of calming scent control, it was always lessons about making yourself scarier and more intimidating through your scent. Kei was starting to see a real flaw in the education system. Alphas were taught that being strong protected your future omega, but really in moments like this, Kei can’t give Tadashi what he needs, again.  
But Kei didn’t have time to wallow in self pity about his weaknesses, Tadashi was struggling, and he needed to do something about it, even if he can’t be perfect.  
  
Kei took a deep breath in, trying to calm himself, but that was a huge mistake. As he inhaled, he could smell even more the troubled scent of Tadashi. Kei half grunted and half growled as he exhaled, making a note to breathe in through his mouth next time. He took several deep breaths before remembering his training on scent control. He channeled all his thoughts into releasing his scent as thick as he could, before remembering that his training was on how to be intimidating, not calming.  
Tadashi whimpered in his sleep. Kei’s eyes snapped open as he realized his error. He had been so focused that he hadn’t even been releasing a calming scent, simply falling back on the scent he had practiced. A whine of despair slipped through Kei’s lips now. Now he was officially making things worse.  
  
Kei clenched his teeth for a moment before taking another deep breath and closing his eyes, focusing on his scent again, this time focusing intently on his emotions that he was amplifying. He pushed out as much of a calming scent as he could, this time thinking of saving Tadashi instead of his inadequacy. It was surprisingly successful, thinking of Tadashi instead. Kei almost laughed despite the situation. Of course, Tadashi was the solution, he always is.  
His scent, staying calm and almost sweet for an alpha, continued to flow out of him as he listened intently for any changes in Tadashi’s breathing.  
  
He listened for a minute, but there were no changes. As he was beginning to lose hope, finally he caught it. A sigh. His eyes snapped open again, immediately going to Tadashi. His face looked better, almost calm now. Kei released a sigh the size of a planet. Okay, maybe a bit too loud, because now Tadashi was stirring.  
At first Kei was elated by this, but now that he thought about it, he had no idea what to say when he did wake up. I mean, they’re still not on the greatest terms… But Tadashi didn’t wait for Kei to collect his thoughts because at that very moment his eyes fluttered open.  
  
Well dang it.  
  
Kei stared at Tadashi like a deer in the headlights, saying nothing. Meanwhile, Tadashi looked asleep still, despite beginning to sit up. He was sitting completely up now and staring right back at Kei blankly. Kei could almost hear crickets. But suddenly the blank look on Tadashi’s face slid right off, replaced by wide eyed fear.  
What? What was wrong? Was Tadashi afraid of Kei?? Or something else?  
  
Tadashi snapped out of his daze, though still very wide eyed, and truly looked at Kei now. Just as Kei thought Tadashi would smile and comment on their near death experience or something his eye welled with tears, face crumpling and a small whimper coming from him.  
Now Kei’s eyes were wide with worry. What had he done? He hadn’t even said anything yet!  
  
“You’re alive,” Tadashi said, almost to quiet and broken to understand. Kei barely had time to process his words before he was nearly tackled by the omega.  
He let out a small grunt of surprise at Tadashi, who was in his lap, hugging him and crying full out now. Kei was still confused about why he was crying. If he was crying because of Kei, then why was he hugging him? And again, what did he do??!!  
Still, Kei couldn’t ignore the squeeze of his heart at the crying, even if he didn’t know the cause. His arms reached out without prompting, wrapping tightly around Tadashi and rubbing softly at the trembling back. He pulled Tadashi even closer, bringing his neck right next to the other boy’s and without even thinking began scenting him. It was so natural, so familiar. Tadashi in his arms, the smell of their scents mixing beautifully. The past weeks disappeared, the sadness, the pain, everything. There was only now.  
  
The moment was so easy that it took Kei several minutes to realize that this wasn’t a normal thing anymore. Not after everything he had done, all he had said, and all he had said.  
Kei stopped scenting, no longer able to have this intimate moment with a clear conscience. But still he kept Tadashi in his arms, not ready to let go. Not by a long shot. He left it for Tadashi to choose, he didn’t have to stay but didn’t have to go.  
But when Kei stopped, Tadashi, who had stopped crying a few minutes earlier, froze as well. Kei waited with bated breath. What was Tadashi going to say? He truly had no idea.  
“Why’d you stop?” Tadashi asked, pulling himself away a bit to look at Kei, but still just an inch apart. He spoke a little slurred, probably from sleep or maybe some medication, but still it seemed odd. Tadashi was a gracious, forgiving person but even he wouldn’t forget about these past weeks in less than a night.  
Tadashi looked at Kei, almost… pouting? Tadashi pushed his bottom lip out, glaring lightly at Kei in an almost childish way, but oh gosh was it adorable.  
“Do it again,” Tadashi said with a hint of whine in his voice, still looking adorably sulky.  
  
Kei’s heart clenched as his throat dried, “D-do what?” His voice cracked as he spoke. This seemed to make Tadashi smile a little bit though. But it was a strange smile. His eyes were half lidded, and his smile was a bit crooked. He looked almost… No. It’s not possible, he couldn’t be drunk. Where would he have even gotten the alcohol under the supervision of the nurses and guards?  
But still, the symptoms were strangely similar.  
Tadashi pouted again, “You know what I’m talking about,” he said matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obviously answer in the world.  
When Kei still gave him a confused a look he sighed dramatically, “You know,” he tilted his head to the left, exposing his neck and scent gland there, “that thing.”  
Kei’s cheeks lit up like fires, he knew that Tadashi meant scenting now, but the way he was presenting himself made him think of other things. He stared blankly at the neck, wanting more than anything to kiss it. Kei swallowed hard, it took everything in him to keep himself away from Tadashi.  
  
But Tadashi did not like that, not at all. His eyebrows furrowed, and he brought his neck closer to Kei, obviously confused at why Kei wasn’t moving yet. But Kei held himself back. Barely. He took a deep breath to steady himself, barely remembering to breathe through his mouth so as not to take a whiff of that undoubtedly tantalizing scent right in front of him. He clenched his teeth and, as gently as he could, pushed back Tadashi by his hips, successfully getting him a few more inches away.  
Now this Tadashi really didn’t like. His pout transformed into a confused frown and he put tilted his head back into place, now staring at Kei with his sad doe eyes.  
Oh no. This might be worse. He just looked so sad. Kei almost reached out to embrace the boy again before catching himself. Something was still very wrong, he repeated over and over to stop himself.  
  
Well, he had gotten Tadashi a little farther away, making him sadder, but now what was he going to do? He really didn’t think this through, but give him some slack, he has an apparently drunk Tadashi begging for him so he’s a little distracted, and rightfully so.  
Kei looked around the room quickly for something to help him out, still keeping his hands on Tadashi’s hips to keep him back. He could feel Tadashi pushing forward, trying to reach him, distracting him from trying to find some solution. Finally, he saw it, a bell on the wall that would call a nurse or maid. There’s his chance. Problem is he didn’t know if Tadashi would let him go long enough to ring it and get some help. Well, he had to try. He thought for a moment as Tadashi continued to struggle against his hands.  
But finally, he realized his solution- he’d just give Tadashi what he wants.  
  
Kei turned his eyes back to Tadashi and Tadashi stopped struggling to stare back. Then, with no warning, Kei removed his hands from Tadashi’s hips, leaving him free.  
With barely a moment’s pause Tadashi flew forward, apparently giving up on Kei scenting him and instead went straight for his neck. Tadashi wrapped his arms around Kei’s neck, locking him in place as he nuzzled into his neck. He didn’t try to hide his deep inhale into Kei’s neck, which would usually be considered rude, but considering his state, Kei let it slide. Not to Kei didn’t mind it. Unfortunately, it was just the opposite.  
  
Kei couldn’t help but shiver as Tadashi began rubbing his neck against his own, their scents mixing once again. Kei took deeps breaths of Tadashi’s scent subconsciously, basking in its fragrance, almost forgetting about bells and nurses and help completely.  
But sadly, Kei collected himself a bit after a minute or two, Tadashi still rubbing himself on his neck. Kei once again tried to pry Tadashi from himself for a moment, this time pushing him just far enough to look him in the eyes. Still Tadashi protested. Realizing that Kei was going to separate them he took more drastic actions. Adjusting himself on Kei’s lap quickly he brought his face to Kei’s scent gland again, but this time instead of just breathing it in, he kissed it.  
  
At first it was just a closed mouth light kiss on his neck, still bringing chills to Kei, but soon he was licking and kissing more aggressively. Now this Kei didn’t know he could handle much more of. He couldn’t help but flex his neck and arch his back at the kisses, seeming to spur Tadashi more with them. Then it seemed that kissing his neck wasn’t enough for Tadashi who suddenly sat back up, staring at Kei for just a moment before diving back in, but not at his neck.  
Tadashi went straight forward and before Kei knew it, his lips were against his own.  
  
The first thing Kei felt was surprise, but a close second was realization of just how soft Tadashi’s lips were. He always knew that Tadashi had good lips, anyone could see, but this. This had to be a piece of heaven. Tadashi gave him a small closed mouth kiss first, leaning back to see Kei’s reaction but then diving right back in and more fervently this time.  
Just when Kei thought that this was how good life gets Tadashi’s tongue ghosted along his bottom lip, silently asking for entrance. Kei’s lips parted mostly out of surprise and Tadashi’s tongue slipped in exploring immediately.  
  
Now this. This was heaven. He could feel Tadashi’s weight on his lap, every breath he took he smelled Tadashi’s scent, and his mouth was entangled with him in a way he could never have dreamt of. Although now he was surely to dream about it.  
Everything was right in the world. The love of his life was kissing him and for the first time in what felt like years he was happy.  
But then there was the thought in the back of his head that he couldn’t ignore no matter how hard he tried.  
This isn’t Tadashi, it whispered to him, this is whatever alcohol or drug that’s doing this.  
  
Kei didn’t want to hear it, but it wouldn’t stop. Finally, it was yelling in his head and Kei couldn’t take the guilt anymore. He pulled his face away from Tadashi’s abruptly. Tadashi tried to follow him but a light hand on his chest stopped him. This time, Tadashi’s face didn’t look like a pout or frown, it was the picture of betrayal. He looked confused and dazed. It hurt Kei’s heart. But he couldn’t continue this while Tadashi was in this state.  
  
Kei averted his eyes from Tadashi and pushed lightly on his chest while scooting out from under him. Surprisingly, Tadashi didn’t resist, he stared blankly with that confused gaze still plastered on his face. Kei was preparing to stand before Tadashi finally reacted. His hand shot out, wrapping around the back of Kei’s shirt.  
“Wait! Kei, please don’t leave me…” Tadashi’s voice grew quieter and quieter ending in a sad whisper. Kei could hear the incoming tears in his voice.  
Everything in Kei told him to stop the tears and give Tadashi whatever he wanted, but he had to get help. He couldn’t take advantage of Tadashi like this. It was wrong.  
  
He pushed himself up onto his feet, Tadashi’s hand falling weakly to the bed as he did. Kei stayed standing for a moment to make sure he was steady before taking his first step towards the bell.  
Bang!  
Suddenly through the calf that was slashed last night, a searing pain worse than the original cut shot through his leg. Kei fell to the floor with a yell.  
“Kei!” Tadashi yelled out.  
Kei couldn’t focus on much as waves of pain washed through his leg, seemingly endless. Finally, he found the strength to move his leg into a position that didn’t kill him. After a moment of recovery, Kei became aware of a hand on his back and a voice calling out that he didn’t hear before.  
  
“Kei! Are you alright?” Tadashi asked worriedly, not a trace of the other Tadashi from a moment ago in his voice.  
  
Kei rolled over to his back, careful to not mess with his wound, and looked up at Tadashi. He looked extremely worried, but besides that, completely normal. No strange clinginess or constant need to be in his neck. What happened to the Tadashi from just a moment ago? And what kind of drug does that and wears off so fast? What on earth was happening?  
“If you needed help getting up you could have just woken me up! I’m so sorry, I stayed here to help but then I fell asleep and the next thing I know you’re on the floor in pain. I’ve done a terrible job, please forgive me!” Words spilled out of Tadashi so fast Kei could barely keep up, but something definitely doesn’t line up.  
“Wait, when did you wake up?” Kei asked tentatively. Tadashi looked confused.  
“Just now. I must’ve been woken up by your yell.” Tadashi responded.  
  
What on earth is going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp hope you enjoyed, cant wait to explain what happened!!! But anyhoo I already know what I want to do so the next chapter should come faster I hoped!!!! But thanks for reading, love you, God bless, byeeeeeeeee


	15. Finally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo…. It’s, uh, it’s been a while…hehe, whoops… well anyhoo, im back!!!! And im actually trying to set up a schedule and be consistent, so just hang in there!! And ive been getting some questions about this being discontinued, but don’t worry, we still got a little while!! So enjoy!!

Tsukki has been staring blankly at Tadashi for almost a minute now and, quite frankly, he was starting to worry. Tadashi waved his hand in front of Tsukki’s face, “Tsukki? You feeling alright?”  
Tsukki blinked at Tadashi yet again and now Tadashi was really starting to worry, “Tsukki.” Tadashi said sternly, staring him in the eyes, trying to grab his attention. “Tsukki!” Tadashi grabbed at his shoulders and gave a hard shake as he yelled. Finally, Tsukki jolted and looked down into Tadashi’s eyes.  
  
Tadashi stared back at him, brows still furrowed in worry. Thankfully, he seemed at least a little more coherent, but still not quite right. Tadashi stared longer at him, trying to assess the whole situation through a still tired brain. Speaking of tired, Tsukki didn’t look so great right now. Well, of course he was still hot, stupid Tsukki is always hot, but he looked really… tired? In fact, the longer he stared, the more Tsukki looked almost sickly. His eyes all of the sudden looked droopy and his shoulders were a bit more slumped and he still hadn’t said anything.  
  
Had he looked like this for the past three minutes or could this have possibly have changed just now? It was starting to look like the latter, because before Tadashi’s eyes, Tsukki’s condition was worsening. His eyes were almost completely closed and he had started to sway the slightest bit. That wasn’t good. Tadashi snapped into action. He grabbed Tsukki’s shoulders gently, pulling him to the bed where Tsukki immediately sat down or collapsed into, it was hard to tell.  
Now that Tadashi could take a step back and look, he was definitely getting worse. He looked like he could fall asleep any moment, or even that he already was asleep. But either way, Tadashi needed to get help, and quick. He turned to the wall where the bell was attached and quickly made his way over there. Taking one more glance at Tsukki, who was looking very delirious now, he rang the bell loud and clear.  
  
After ringing it, Tadashi turned back to Tsukki, fearing that he might have upset him with the loud bell ring, but it was clear that he was so out of it, he didn’t even notice. Tadashi didn’t know if he should feel relieved or more worried by that.  
It didn’t take long for the doctor to react, in fact, only a minute later, there was a knocking at the door. Tadashi ran to the door and opened it, surprised to see Yachi there. Yachi was bent down, picking up a towel she had dropped out of the basket of laundry she was holding. She was still looking down at the towel when she began,” Oh, hello Tsukishima, I didn’t expect you to be up-“ Yachi finally looked up and realized her mistake. “Yamaguchi??” She asked, bewildered.  
  
“Yes…?” Tadashi responded.  
  
“I could have sworn you were Tsukishima, your smell is almost completely the-“She cut off her sentence again. This might have started to annoy Tadashi if it weren’t for the look on her face. Yachi looked utterly bewildered as she silently pushed the door open slightly to reveal the room more. She took the tiniest of sniffs into the room, but barely made it through it before she recoiled and brought her hand up to pinch her nose.  
Tadashi was almost offended now, but mostly confused, “Do I smell that bad?”  
Yachi shook her head and opened her mouth to answer before blushing and turning away. Before Yachi could start explaining herself, or at least try, the nurse turned around the corner, distracting her. Yachi looked extremely relieved to see her, which was strange because usually she became extremely nervous around this alpha, for obvious reasons.  
“Shimizu-san! Thank goodness. We have a bit of a… problem,” Yachi spits out faster than Tadashi can understand. But thankfully, this Shimizu can apparently understand and makes her way over.  
“What’s the matter?” Shimizu asks, calmly, but still showing concern for the situation. Yachi’s blush gets worse as she tries to answer, “Uh, well, the thing is…” Shimizu waits patiently as Yachi stumbles, but finally Yachi lets out a frustrated, “Just smell for yourself!”  
  
Yachi looks horrified at herself, but Shimizu just nods and steps up to the door where Tadashi still stands. He moves back into the room to let her in, but she, like Yachi, stays at the edge and takes a sniff. It only takes a moment for her eyes to widen in alarm. Tadashi couldn’t be more confused now, what on earth are they smelling??  
He’s about to voice this exact question when Shimizu turns to him and without a word grabs him by the shoulder and pulls him out of the room. Tadashi doesn’t have time to voice his confusion or even react to her rough movements before she’s talking again, this time gravely and urgently.  
  
“You need to get out, both of you. Go to the opposite side of the castle and out the side doors and get some fresh air. After a few minutes outside, come back in, still far away from this room, and take a bath. Make sure to wash yourself thoroughly and put the clothes into the laundry immediately. Understood?”  
Tadashi opened his mouth to protest but stopped when he saw the alpha’s eyes. She wasn’t scary, but she was so serious and concerned and almost… scared? Tadashi could only nod, and turn away, but not before taking one last peek into the room where Tsukki still sat. Well, where he was sitting before. Now, he was laying on the bed in what seemed to be a very uncomfortable position.  
Tsukki looked completely normal and, on any other day, Tadashi would have said that it was good that he was getting sleep, but today, it felt wrong. He didn’t know why, but now his worrying became worse.  
  
“Shimizu-san, is he going to be okay?” Tadashi asked, trying to get a better angle to see through the half open door.  
“Prince Yamaguchi, you must leave. Now.” With that final statement, Shimizu strode into the room, closing the door behind her.  
Tadashi stared at the door. Why couldn’t she have answered the question? It would have taken just a moment to say, “Yes, he will be just fine soon,” or even just nod yes. It’s so easy, but… Maybe she just didn’t want to lie. Maybe Tsukki’s not fine. And she just didn’t want to stand there and explain to him that his best friend is dying. Maybe even-  
“Yamaguchi!”  
  
Tadashi jumped from the sudden exclamation that came from Yachi.  
“I can tell you’re thinking too much, and I’m sorry, but we don’t have time, Shimizu-san looked very serious.” Yachi explained quickly, grabbing Tadashi’s hand at the same time.  
Tadashi nodded, his brows still furrowed in both worry and thought, but he still followed Yachi, keeping up with her fast pace. The hallways blurred by as they almost jogged to the other side of the castle. They didn’t see many people, but when they did, their reactions were very strange. Two maids smiled at them for a moment, but then a moment later looked confused and then a little bit… afraid. As they passed the maids, Tadashi saw them covering their noses and mouths with their hands.  
  
Did they smell bad? Tadashi wondered. He brought his shirt to his nose and took a small sniff. There was no bad smell, Tadashi concluded, in fact, it smelled kind of good. It smelled… safe. It reminded him of something he couldn’t place, but he didn’t hate it, on the contrary, it took him a few seconds to put the shirt back down because he kept smelling it. And even then, he only stopped because Yachi looked confused. He tried to play it off as just wiping his face, but he probably didn’t do the best job of it, because Yachi still looked slightly confused.  
But she let it go, because here they were, at the exit. Yachi opened the door and Tadashi’s eyes were assaulted with the blinding sunlight. To be honest, he’s probably exaggerating because it was actually pretty late in the evening and the sun was coming down some. They went out, eyes still squinting from the sun, into the garden. Tadashi was still bewildered as to why any of this was happening and why they were there, and he wanted to ask, but he felt weird, like it would take so much energy just to ask. Come to think of it, he felt kind of fuzzy.  
  
That’s weird, Tadashi thought. He didn’t even notice till now that weird buzzing in his limbs and the fog in his brain. But now, with everything so clear and the air so fresh, he was starting to feel better already. Now he didn’t want to question why they were out here, but rather how this nurse knew that it would help? Did she know what was happening to Tadashi? Tadashi didn’t even know something was happening, let alone what that something is!  
So how on earth could she possibly know?  
  
Thoughts continued to bounce around in his head, though never vocalized, until Yachi finally spoke up a few minutes later. “I think it’s about time, you should head in and get bathed and dressed.”  
It took Tadashi a moment to answer. Even with the fresh air helping, he still felt very lethargic. “Alright,” he finally replied, and they made their way in.  
Thankfully, Tadashi’s room wasn’t too far from this side of the castle, so their trip was much shorter, which was good because with his new less clogged mind, he was starting to notice a lot more aches and pains. When they made it over the threshold of his room and Tadashi saw his bed for the first time in what felt like forever, Tadashi wanted nothing more than to flop down and sleep till the end of the world.  
  
Unfortunately, though, Yachi can apparently read minds now, and before Tadashi could take more than one step to his bed, she was leading him to the bathroom. Tadashi pouted, but didn’t have any energy to fight back. Yachi even laughed at his little scowl, saying, “Come on, it won’t be bad once you’re in, believe me, you’ll thank me later.”  
Yachi started the water and got some fresh clothes and towels for Tadashi and then left him to bathe on his own. Just about the only thing he does on his own. One of the many luxuries of being a prince, you’re never left alone. Ever.  
  
Tadashi climbed into the warm bath, sighing against the feeling of the water. Okay, maybe Yachi was right, this doesn’t sound too bad now.  
Tadashi stayed in the bath for way too long, his mind blissfully empty, despite a few moments of worry. But he eventually did have to get up, unfortunately, and get dressed, just in time apparently, because barely a minute after he walked out of the bathroom, still putting his dirty clothes and towels away, there was a knock at the door.  
Great. People again.  
Tadashi didn’t even sigh, he was used to this by now. He simply walked to the door and opened it, even throwing on a polite smile.  
“Hello, how can I help you?” was what he tried to ask, but instead the maids at the door ran in faster than he could keep up with and began bustling about the room. But thankfully, there was one who had the idea of telling Tadashi what was going on. As the other three or so maids began laying out several outfits and fabrics all over, one maid addressed Tadashi,” So sorry for the sudden intrusion, Your Highness, but this is the kings order and it must be done quickly.”  
  
Tadashi was still confused, “I’m sorry, did I miss something? What’s going on tonight?”  
The maid’s eyebrows raised in surprise, “You didn’t know? Wow, the king said it would be a little short notice, but I thought he had at least told you about the whole ordeal itself.”  
“What ordeal?!” Tadashi blurted out in mild frustration.  
“Well, the choosing of your future mate.” The maid replied, incredulously. Tadashi was dumbstruck.  
“My… what?” Tadashi asked quietly. The maid, not quite understanding that that was a bit of a rhetorical question, elaborated, “They’re choosing your future mate tonight. Well, not tonight, but the candidates are arriving tonight, apparently a little ahead of the king’s original schedule, which is probably why you didn’t even know yet.”  
Tadashi couldn’t do it right now. He just couldn’t think, couldn’t comprehend any of this now, it was too much. Why now? Why so soon after he presented? Was his father so eager to get him away? Or was is the other kingdoms urging that brought this forth. Tadashi is the prince of one of the five major kingdoms, and now he’s an omega. This is an opportunity like no other for people to make their way into the highest class, and they were going to make the most of it, that much was obvious.  
  
But Tadashi no longer had time to think over this, because now he was being pushed into the fray, where outfits of all colors and shapes were blurring together as the maids frantically got him looking presentable. They finally decided on a simple green suit, with beautiful gold detailing. Tadashi kind of liked it, and the maids loved it even more. By the end of their little adventure, all the maids were “oohing” and “ahhing” at their handiwork.  
The maids were still fussing over how handsome he looked and bombarding him with compliments when there was another knock at the door. Like a switch had been flipped, the maids stilled and waited in silence as one of them grabbed the door.  
“Tsukki!” Tadashi yelled out immediately. In the doorway stood Tsukki, likewise dressed nicer than usual than usual. Tadashi spluttered for words, he had so many questions, like why are you out of bed? How is your leg? What happened earlier? Are you okay? Are we okay? But none of them came out, and Tadashi just stared at Tsukki.  
Tsukki stepped into the room, and as soon as there was room in the doorway, the maids rushed out, and Tadashi couldn’t tell if he was thankful or mad at them for leaving.  
As Tsukki stepped forward a few more steps, Tadashi could see a bit more of a limp, but he was doing pretty good, really good for just a couple days since the injury. Now comes the hard part, though, talking to each other. Thankfully, it looked like Tsukki had his thoughts in order at least. He cleared his throat before beginning,  
  
“Yama-“, he stopped and cleared his throat again, his cheeks getting a little red, “Tadashi. I know I’ve been doing the wrong things… a lot of wrong things, like ignoring you after the whole jail thing. But honestly,” He pauses again, and Tadashi feels like he’s going to explode from the suspense, is this where he finally gets answers?! Tsukki starts again after a breath, “Honestly, I’ve never regretted something more in my life,” he states simply, still trying to meet Tadashi’s eyes, but now he gives up and looks to the floor. “It would take me forever to explain to you my reasoning, but know, I really was trying to think of what was best for you… and I just thought for a moment that it didn’t include me.”  
Tadashi’s eyes widened, and he stared, mouth agape, at Tsukki. That’s why? Because he thought…  
  
But Tsukki wasn’t done, “I know I don’t deserve it, and I may never be able to make it up to you, but even if you don’t forgive me… I’m sorry.” The last words came out so quiet and so earnestly, that Tadashi couldn’t take it anymore, tears began leaking from his eyes and a small sob escaped him.  
Tsukki’s head snapped up at the sound and his eyes were full of panic, why was he crying? He reached forward to do something, anything, but hesitated, he still didn’t know where they stood. But now Tadashi was crying, and he was just standing there, he has to do something!  
  
But before he could make any decisions, Tadashi leaped forward, wrapping his arms around Tsukki, and continued to cry into his chest. Tsukki was shocked, but he slowly wrapped his arms around Tadashi and put his head beside Tadashi’s, rubbing it slightly. Tadashi cried for a few more seconds before he calmed himself enough to whisper, “I missed you… a lot.” Ending it with a little chuckle that Tsukki joined in on.  
Tsukki brought one of his hands up to Tadashi’s head to pet it, “I missed you too,” he said.  
They stayed like this for a little while longer until Tadashi’s crying completely subsided, and he began wiping his eyes and face. Now that they were no longer hugging though, it was awkward. But then Tsukki began, “Are you ready?”  
Tadashi tilted his head in confusion, “For…?”  
“The first dinner with the… candidates,” Tsukki answered, scowling now and glaring at the wall.  
Tadashi’s stomach sank, he had completely forgotten. “Tsukki, I’m not ready for this… I can’t…” he trailed off weakly, looking down at the floor in despair.  
“Hey, it’s okay, this is only the first dinner. All the choosing isn’t even starting until next week,” Tsukki tried comforting, but his brows were still furrowed, and his fists were clenched and he was even biting his lip.  
Tadashi looked up in concern, “Tsukki, you okay?” Tsukki looked down and chuckled softly, features softening.  
“You shouldn’t be the one worrying about me, dumby.” Tsukki replied, finally feeling like normal around Tadashi again. Now Tadashi fake gasped with a hand to his heart dramatically.  
“How dare you call me, the prince, a… a dumby!” Tadashi said, in the most pretentious, distraught voice he had. This brought a full laugh from both, and finally, finally things were getting better. They walked together to the dining hall in a comfortable silence. And for once, Tadashi forgot about the millions of questions he had, Kei forgot about all his troubles, and together they basked in each other’s presence.  
  
Tadashi felt so light, he could have sworn he was flying. He was so scared that even if they did make up, things would be strained, but here they were! Life couldn’t get any better!  
They reached the dining hall and glanced at each other before plunging into the chaos of dinner. The hall was decorated, people were everywhere and still coming in through the doors, this was a full-blown feast. For a moment, Tadashi even thought they could blend into the crowd and not have to be noticed, but that small hope evaporated almost immediately.  
People realized that Tadashi was there and soon the hall was nearly silent. But still, Tadashi and Tsukki made their way to the center table where the king would be sitting. By the time they made it, the hall was completely silent, but now, at least, the king had noticed them and called them over. Tadashi made it to the king and hugged him, feeling a little stiff because honestly, he was a bit mad at him.  
But then, Tadashi stepped back and saw the pride in his father’s eyes, crinkling with a smile,” You look stunning,” he said, just quiet enough to be between them only. Tadashi beamed up at his father while he grabbed his wine glass, and everyone else followed suit.  
  
“A toast,” the king said,” to my son, and to the one who will one day care for him!” Cheers and applause broke out over the room, and Tadashi smiled politely at everyone, not really sure what to do when people are making a toast to you. But now it was over, and people were sitting for the actual meal. Now this part, Tadashi could handle, if only parties were just eating, he would love them.  
But soon enough, the eating was done, and it was time for socializing… yay. Today was different though, Tadashi didn’t even move, instead there was a steady stream of people, all alphas, Tadashi realized, coming to meet him. Usually, Tadashi gets attention at events because he was the prince, but now, it was all on him. The king barely had a visitor, but Tadashi had only a moment to breath before the next person was introducing themselves.  
  
Names and faces blurred as introductions were thrown at him left and right, and if Tsukki wasn’t right there beside him, he might become overwhelmed. The hall was starting to empty though, and people were heading to their hotels or second homes for the night, leaving only a few stragglers behind.  
Tadashi turned to Tsukki, exhausted, about to ask to leave, when two more men came up. Tadashi sighed internally and turned to face the latecomers with a smile.  
The first to step forward was a very tall guy, almost as tall as Tsukki, with hair that was very… interesting. It was black and looked like it hadn’t been combed in weeks, but besides that, he seemed nice, but a little intimidating. “Kuroo Tetsurou of Nekoma,” he introduced himself, “a pleasure to meet you, Prince Yamaguchi.”  
He had barely gotten through his introduction and bow before the next one in line came up. It was another one with a somewhat strange appearance. He was also tall, but very broad and strong-looking, with white and black hair in very unnatural looking spikes.  
  
“Bokuto Kotarou of Fukurodani, nice to meet you, Prince.” He introduced himself before going into a fast bow that looked painful.  
But Tadashi continued in his duty,” It’s a pleasure to meet both of you, thank you for joining us here.”  
He had barely gotten through before the two men nodded politely, albeit quickly, and ran, literally, the exit. It even looked like they were racing, as the one introduced as Bokuto loudly cheered when he made it to the door first.  
Tadashi chuckled a bit at them before turning back to Tsukki, who was looking very deep in thought.  
“Tsukki?” Tadashi asked, getting his attention, “You okay? You look a little concerned.”  
Tsukki turned to Tadashi, still not completely rid of his worried expression, “Nothing, it’s just, those two were the… candidates,” saying candidates like it felt wrong in his mouth,” for two of the other four big kingdoms. So basically, two of the most likely to be your…” Tsukki trailed off, scowling at the last part and turning away.  
“Well, I get that much, but why are you upset?” Asked Tadashi.  
  
Tsukki didn’t look back as he grumbled, “I don’t like them.” Tadashi laughed at his whiny voice.  
“First off, you just met them, second, it didn’t really seem like you didn’t like anyone here tonight either.” Tadashi responded. Tsukki turned back to him for this one,” Yeah, because they all want the same thing, they just want the power, and no one’s even thinking about you!”  
Tadashi smiled, albeit a bit sadly, “I appreciate the sentiment, Tsukki, but I already knew that was going to be the case. What did you expect?”  
Tsukki grumbled, almost a growl, “I expected them to have at least a little dignity and respect for you as a person.” He responded, huffily. Tadashi just laughed again, “It’s okay, Tsukki, it’s what I expected. Anyway, I’m exhausted, and I don’t think there’s anyone left, so let’s go while we have the chance.”  
Tsukki muttered some affirmative answer and started off towards Tadashi’s chambers.  
“Just think,” Tadashi said, feigning excitement in his voice,” only three more weeks of this!”  
  
They both groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ay, so I accidentally made this one a bit long(also that is my apology to you) so, sorry if you don’t like longer chapters, but I hope you liked this one… I finally got them back together and they are ready to face the world!! Or at least they think they are… but anyhoo, im excited about whats coming up next, and also adding in some ships (might even make a side story someday in this same universe), but don’t worry, they wont be major at all! Well, have a great day, love ya, God bless, byyyyeeeeeee


End file.
